U.S. President Donald Trump has promised not to withdraw as a mediator in Russia's war against Ukraine, Estonian President Alar Karis told the regional media outlet ERR on April 26.
Karis said he spoke with Trump directly following the funeral of Pope Francis. Various world leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, convened in Vatican City to attend the ceremony.
Karis, who sat next to Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during the funeral, said he asked Trump directly about the progress of the peace talks. According to Karis, Trump promised that the U.S. would continue to work towards a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
"I asked him how the peace process was going and asked him to do everything to ensure that the process continued, so that the U.S. did not withdraw (from the peace process)," Karis told ERR.
"He promised to do so and said that we were quite close to a solution, since he had just met with Zelensky."
Karis said he did not press Trump closely on the details of his meeting with Zelensky.
Trump and Zelensky held a "productive" meeting in St. Peter's Basilica following the funeral ceremony — their first in-person encounter since their heated argument at the White House in February. While both sides praised the April 26 meeting as constructive, neither party disclosed the details of the leaders' conversation.
Following the meeting in the Vatican, Trump wrote on social media that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not seem interested in ending the war and suggested the U.S. may need to impose additional sanctions on Moscow.
Trump in recent days has said he believes Ukraine and Russia will reach a ceasefire agreement "very soon," though the deal reportedly proposed by the U.S. would entail significant concessions from Ukraine, including potentially recognizing the Russian annexation of Crimea.
Trump's optimistic remarks come after he threatened to withdraw from the peace process altogether, citing impatience with both Russian and Ukrainian leadership in comments to reporters on April 18.
Karis said that in addition to promising to stay involved in peace negotiations, Trump discussed U.S.-European relations and agreed it was a priority.
"We also talked about transatlantic relations, that they are important for both of us, not only from a European but also from an American point of view. President Trump agrees with this. So we need to think about how to make these relations better," Karis said.
Karis invited Trump to visit Estonia, and was in turn invited to Washington, he said.
Martin Fornusek
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