Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his conversation with US President Donald Trump at the Vatican last month was their \u201cbest\u201d yet, with the two leaders discussing US sanctions and Kyiv\u2019s air defenses. <\/p>\n
The brief meeting on the sidelines of Pope Francis\u2019s funeral in April came at a crucial time for Ukraine, amid concerns that the US could scale back support for Kyiv and abandon peace talks. <\/p>\n
Both sides described the talks as positive, which marked their first face-to-face encounter since their disastrous Oval Office meeting in February. Soon after, Trump questioned whether Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin wanted peace, the latest sign that the US leader was losing patience with his Russian counterpart. <\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that we had the best conversation with President Trump of all those that have taken place before,\u201d Zelensky told journalists on Friday, in remarks released Saturday by Ukraine\u2019s presidential office. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt may have been the shortest, but it was the most substantive.\u201d <\/p>\n
Zelensky said the pair discussed US sanctions, without elaborating, and described Trump\u2019s comments on the matter as \u201cvery strong.\u201d He added that he reiterated his desire to bolster Ukraine\u2019s air defenses and told Trump he hoped to have the opportunity to purchase American weapons. <\/p>\n
\u201cI told him about the quantity, and he told me that they would work on it, that these things are not free,\u201d Zelensky said. <\/p>\n
He added that he and Trump agreed that a 30-day ceasefire \u201cis the right first step\u201d and that \u201cwe will move in this direction.\u201d <\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Washington and Kyiv signed a crucial minerals deal \u2013 an agreement both sides had been trying to hammer out since Trump returned to the White House in January. <\/p>\n
In his Friday comments, Zelensky pointed to the Vatican meeting as the turning point in securing a deal, adding that he had managed to dispel Russian claims that Ukraine was unwilling to reach an agreement with the US. \u201cI am confident that after our meeting in the Vatican, President Trump began to look at things a little differently,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The Ukrainian leader had earlier hailed the minerals deal a \u201ctruly equal agreement\u201d and said it was the \u201cfirst result\u201d of the pair\u2019s meeting. <\/p>\n
Under the deal, the US and Ukraine will create a joint investment fund, according to Ukraine\u2019s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. The US may contribute new military aid to this fund, Svyrydenko said. <\/p>\n
Zelensky also criticized a three-day ceasefire called by Putin late last month that the Russian leader said would last from midnight May 8 to midnight May 11. <\/p>\n
The dates of the proposed ceasefire coincide with Russia\u2019s World War II Victory Day commemorations on May 9 and the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. <\/p>\n
Some international leaders, including China\u2019s Xi Jinping and Belarus\u2019s Aleksandr Lukashenko, are expected to gather in Moscow on that date, to mark Russia\u2019s Victory Day commemorating the more than 25 million Soviet soldiers and civilians who died during World War II. <\/p>\n
Kyiv won\u2019t be \u201cplaying games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin\u2019s exit from isolation on 9 May,\u201d Zelensky said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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