After meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump questions Putin’s willingness to stop Ukraine war

WASHINGTON, DC: US President Donald Trump has questioned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin’s willingness to stop the war and criticised recent missile strikes in Ukraine, CNN reported.

Trump said after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Vatican on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral, on Saturday.

It was the first meeting between the two leaders since their meeting in the White House, when Zelenskyy faced criticism from Trump and Vice President JD Vance over what they saw as a lack of gratitude for American support.

In a post shared on his social media platform, Truth Social, as he was heading back to the US from Rome, Trump hinted at imposing sanctions against Moscow after Russia’s latest missile attack on Ukraine and questioned whether Putin wants to stop the war.

Donald Trump even criticised former US President Barack Obama and suggested that he “made it possible for Russia to steal Crimea from Ukraine without even a shot being fired.”

In a post shared on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump shared, “No matter what deal I make with respect to Russia/Ukraine, no matter how good it is, even if it’s the greatest deal ever made, The Failing New York Times will speak BADLY of it. Liddle’ Peter Baker, the very biased and untalented writer for The Times, followed his Editor’s demands and wrote that Ukraine should get back territory, including, I suppose, Crimea, and other ridiculous requests, in order to stop the killing that is worse than anything since World War II. Why doesn’t this lightweight reporter say that it was Obama who made it possible for Russia to steal Crimea from Ukraine without even a shot being fired. It was also Liddle’ Peter who wrote an absolutely fawning, yet terribly written Biography, on Obama. It was a JOKE! Did Baker ever criticize the Obama Crimea Giveaway? NO, not once, only TRUMP, and I’ve had nothing to do with this stupid war, other than early on, when I gave Ukraine Javelins, and Obama gave them sheets.”

“This is Sleepy Joe Biden’s War, not mine. It was a loser from day one, and should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened if I were President at the time. I’m just trying to clean up the mess that was left to me by Obama and Biden, and what a mess it is. With all of that being said, there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through “Banking” or “Secondary Sanctions?” Too many people are dying,” he added.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114404524335638236

Trump and Zelenskyy spoke ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis. Describing his meeting with Trump as “good,” Zelenskyy said that talks focused on “full and unconditional ceasefire.” He expressed hope to see results on everything they discussed.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, “Good meeting. We discussed a lot one-on-one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you POTUS.”

Trump and Zelenskyy had a “very productive” meeting in Rome, a White House official said – their first meeting since a tense meeting in the White House in February this year, Al Jazeera stated.

On Saturday, White House communications director Steven Cheung said, “President Trump and President Zelenskyy met privately today and had a very productive discussion. More details about the meeting will follow,” Al Jazeera reported.

In a post on X, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha stated, “No words are needed to describe the importance of this historic meeting. Two leaders working for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica.”

No words are needed to describe the importance of this historic meeting. Two leaders working for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica. pic.twitter.com/drpwPzM4wN

— Andrii Sybiha (@andrii_sybiha) April 26, 2025

Earlier on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Russia said.

In a post on X, the Russian MFA noted that the members on the Russian side included Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, who is President Putin’s Special Envoy for investment and economic cooperation and the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

“On April 25, President of Russia Vladimir #Putin met in the Kremlin with Special Envoy of @POTUS, @SteveWitkoff. On the Russian Side, the meeting was also attended by Presidential Aide Yury #Ushakov and RDIF CEO, @kadmitriev,” Russian MFA posted on X.

On April 25, President of Russia Vladimir #Putin met in the Kremlin with Special Envoy of @POTUS, @SteveWitkoff.

On the Russian Side, the meeting was also attended by Presidential Aide Yury #Ushakov and RDIF CEO, @kadmitriev.https://t.co/vxfwGxed0g#RussiaUSA pic.twitter.com/J1yEVihymp

— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) April 25, 2025

The meeting, which took place at the Kremlin, lasted three hours and was “constructive and very useful,” Yury Ushakov, a key Putin aide who was at the talks, told reporters, as reported by CNN.

He said, “”This conversation allowed the US positions to be brought closer together, not only on Ukraine, but also on a number of other international issues.” (ANI)