‘Zelenskyy is calmer, wants to make a deal,’ says Trump after meeting Ukrainian leader in Vatican

While interacting with the media during his departure from New Jersey, Trump said he was anguished over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s missile attack on Kyiv and disappointed that the Kremlin has been continuing its attack on Kyiv, making the US president doubt whether Putin was even serious about ending the war.

“I think the meeting went well. We’ll see what happens over the next few days. We’ll probably learn a lot. I was very disappointed that missiles were flying by Russia,” Trump said, CNN reported.

After Russia launched about 150 drone assaults and airstrikes in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine early on Sunday, Trump said “I want him (Putin) to stop shooting, sit down and make a deal.”

Elaborating about the issues discussed in his sit-in with President Zelenskyy at St. Peter’s in Vatican, Trump said they also briefly discussed the Crimea issue, which the United States has said would recognise Russian territory under the American peace proposal which has already been rejected by Kyiv.

Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that America could pull out of the ceasefire negotiations if Russia and Ukraine do not make a headway with each other.

During an NBC News program, Rubio said “It needs to happen soon. We cannot continue to dedicate time and resources to this effort if it’s not going to come to fruition,” Reuters reported.