Trump, who has been pushing for direct talks between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring an end to the hostilities, previously claimed that he would need to “intervene” personally to bring them together.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday as he was departing for London, Trump repeated several times that “Zelensky’s gonna have to make a deal.”
Putin has said he is ready in principle to meet Zelensky and suggested the Ukrainian leader could travel to Moscow for talks. Kiev has rejected the idea, saying it would not accept “deliberately unacceptable proposals.”
At the same time, the Russian president has questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy and also expressed doubt about whether talks with him would be “meaningful.” Zelensky’s presidential term expired in May 2024, but he has refused to hold elections, citing martial law.
Moscow has insisted on a peace agreement that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict. It has demanded that Ukraine maintain neutrality, stay out of NATO and other military blocs, demilitarize and denazify, and accept the current territorial reality – including the status of Crimea and the other regions that voted to join Russia in referendums in 2014 and 2022.