Sources told Axios that during the call, Zelenskyy told Trump, “Putin cannot be trusted.”
President Donald Trump reportedly told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders on Wednesday that his goals from Friday’s summit with Vladimir Putin are to get a ceasefire and to better understand whether a full peace deal is possible.
Sources told Axios that during the hour-long call, Zelenskyy told Trump, “Putin cannot be trusted.” Trump, according to one source, responded that while he’s not from the region and can’t make final decisions on territory, he believes land swaps will likely be necessary for a peace deal. “It’s Vladimir and Volodymyr who have to discuss territories with each other, not me,” Trump reportedly said.
Trump has downplayed expectations for the Alaska meeting, describing it as a “feel-out” session. However, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who were also on the call, confirmed afterward that Trump expressed a desire to push for a ceasefire. A source who was on the call said Macron took “very tough” positions and told Trump, “a meeting is a very big thing to give to Putin,” according to the report.
Zelenskyy appeared alongside Merz in Berlin immediately after the call with Trump. He said no diplomatic solution can be achieved without Ukraine, and stressed there should be a trilateral summit involving him, Trump, and Putin.
“I would rate it [the call] a 10. Very friendly,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center. “If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one, I would like to do it almost immediately,” he said when asked about the probability of a trilateral summit happening.
The U.S. equity markets were mixed during midday trade after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit fresh record highs after the opening bell. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was up 0.15%, while Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) edged 0.01% lower. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF and QQQ on Stocktwits was in the ‘neutral’ territory.
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