US President Donald Trump has warned that there could be “consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky do not meet. Exactly who would face those consequences and what they might entail is not yet clear.
According to The Guardian, despite much speculation about the timing and possible location of the Putin-Zelensky meeting, it appears we are no closer to it taking place as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine continue. When asked why Putin does not want to meet with Zelensky, Trump offered an explanation – Because he does not like him.
Trump revealed that he had spoken to Putin again after last week’s meeting with European leaders. When asked how those talks went, he said:
“Every conversation I have with him is a good conversation. And then, unfortunately, a bomb falls on Kiev or some other place and I get very angry about it.”
On a technical level, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed with his European counterparts last night possible security guarantees for the war-torn country, should the meeting actually take place and the two leaders somehow manage to find a path to a peace agreement. It is still unclear what the outcome of those talks will be.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha praised US leadership on the issue, but reiterated that security guarantees must be concrete, legally binding and effective.
However, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski warned the leaders that the Kremlin has not given up its maximalist goals since the beginning of the war, and insisted that the only way to get Moscow to negotiate is through continued political, economic and military pressure on its interests.
“We will see what today brings on these two issues,” the report concluded.
Separately, attention will also be focused on developments in France, where the embattled prime minister could face a no-confidence vote next month, which could bring down his government and plunge the EU’s second-largest economy into an even deeper political crisis.
