President Volodymyr Zelensky has concluded a press conference with US President Donald Trump, who said that “there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war.”
“We’ll have everlasting peace, to answer your question,” he continued.“I hope it will happen immediately. I hope it doesn’t have to go on.”
He added that Russian leader Vladimir Putin could end the war if he wanted, and that American support for Ukraine was holding strong.
“It’s never the end of the road,” he said. “People are being killed and we want to stop that… I believe Vladimir Putin wants to see it ended.”
“The people of Ukraine have suffered, incredibly,” he added.
When asked if he was prepared to “redraw the map” to meet Russia’s demands and end the war, Zelensky said he was ready for three-way peace negotiations.
“Today, there were a lot of attacks, and a one-and-a-half-year-old child was killed. We need to stop this war to stop Russia, and we need support,” he said. “We are ready for trilateral [talks], as the president said.”
“I think this is a good signal, very good,” he added.
On Ukraine’s political future, Zelensky said elections remained essential despite the war.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “We need to work in parliament because during war you can’t have elections, but we need it to make it possible for people to have democratic open election.”
Trump continued to talk about the ongoing peace deal, repeatedly saying that “we’re going to have a lasting peace.”
“We’re going to work with Ukraine, we’re going to work with everybody and we’re gonna make sure that if there’s peace, the peace is going to stay long-term,” he said.
“We’re not talking about a two-year peace, and we end up in this mess again.”
Trump refused to answer multiple questions about whether he was considering sending American troops to support any type of peace deal in Ukraine.
“We’ll let you know that maybe later today,” he said, referencing an upcoming meeting with Zelensky and European allies scheduled for later in the day.
Trump also hinted that his outreach to Moscow wasn’t over, telling reporters that he “just spoke to President Putin indirectly and we’re going to have a phone call right after the meetings today.”
Zelensky offered Trump letter from First Lady Olena Zelenska to American First Lady Melania Trump.
“My wife, the first lady of Ukraine, she gave the letter. It’s not to you – to your wife,” Zelensky said, leading to some laughter in the room.
The gesture by Olena appears to mirror a similar move made by Melania last week. She wrote a letter addressed to Russian leader Vladimir Putin that she asked her husband to give Putin at their meeting on Friday.
Trump circled back to his wife’s role, saying Melania’s earlier letter to Putin had been “very well received,” adding: “She’s got a great love of children… She felt it was a beautiful letter.”