During a phone call between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump, Zelensky reportedly told Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin is pretending "he wants a deal only because he is afraid of you," Axios reported on Feb. 13, citing a Ukrainian official and three other sources familiar with the call.
On Feb. 12, Trump held separate calls with Zelensky and Putin, later claiming both leaders "want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia/Ukraine."
In their call, Trump and Putin agreed that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine will start "immediately."
"Zelensky's message to Trump was 'you have leverage over Putin,'" one source familiar with the call told Axios. Other sources describe the, which went on for over an hour, as positive.
After Zelensky delivered his warning to Trump that "Putin told you he wants a deal only because he is afraid of you, because you are strong," Trump acknowledge that may be the case, but believed Putin was serious about the prospects for peace, according to two sources. "We will know soon," Trump concluded.
Trump reportedly ended the call by giving Zelensky his personal cell phone number and told Zelensky he can reach him directly, one source said.
Following the previously unannounced call to Putin, Zelensky took issue Trump first holding a conversation with Putin before calling Zelensky, expressing that the situation "was not very pleasant."
Previously, Trump announced that he and Putin would hold their first in-person meeting in Saudi Arabia, though the extent of Ukraine's involvement in the talks remains unclear.
A Ukrainian official on Feb. 13 denied Ukraine will participate in a joint meeting between U.S. and Russian representatives in Munich after U.S. President Donald Trump said that talks will be held on Feb. 14.
"Ukraine’s position remains unchanged. Ukraine must first speak with America. Europe must be part of any serious conversation for a genuine and lasting peace. Only a coordinated, unified position should be on the table for talks with the Russians. We don’t meet with Russians at an empty table," Dmytro Lytvyn, an advisor to the Presidential Office said in a statement.
As prospects for the start of peace negotiation are set to begin, Zelensky and U.S. Vice President JD Vance are expected to meet during the top European security conference, taking place between Feb. 14 and 16. The U.S. delegation will also include Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg.
Dmytro Basmat
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