Trump urges Russia to ‘stop shooting’; Rubio says US might walk away from Ukraine peace efforts
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) meeting US President Donald Trump at Saint Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, on April 26.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump urged Russia on April 27 to stop its attacks in Ukraine, while his top diplomat said the US might walk away from peace efforts if it does not see progress.
Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, Mr Trump said he was disappointed that Russia has continued to attack Ukraine, and said his one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican on April 26 had gone well.
“I see him as calmer. I think he understands the picture, and I think he wants to make a deal,” Mr Trump said of Mr Zelensky.
Asked what he wanted from Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Trump said: “Well, I want him to stop shooting, sit down, and sign a deal.”
Mr Trump was speaking on the tarmac at Morristown airport before boarding Air Force One bound for Washington, having attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome.
“We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it,” he added, likely referring to a US-proposed peace plan for the more-than-three-year-long conflict in Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said the Trump administration might abandon its attempts to broker a deal if Russia and Ukraine do not make headway.
“It needs to happen soon,” Mr Rubio told NBC’s Meet The Press.
“We cannot continue to dedicate time and resources to this effort if it’s not going to come to fruition.”
Mr Rubio said the US would consider in the coming week whether to continue mediating talks “or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues”.
Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky – who was also in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis – met in a Vatican basilica
The meeting was the first between the two leaders since an angry encounter
In a Truth Social post later on April 26, Mr Trump rebuked Mr Putin over recent attacks on Ukraine, saying “there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns over the last few days”.
In a pre-taped interview that aired on CBS News’ Face The Nation on April 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would continue to target sites used by Ukraine’s military.
When asked about a Russian strike on Kyiv last week that killed civilians, Mr Lavrov said “the target attacked was not something absolutely civilian” and that Russia targets only “sites which are used by the military”.
Mr Zelensky wrote on messaging app Telegram that his top military commander had reported that Russia had already conducted nearly 70 attacks on April 27. “The situation at the front and the real activity of the Russian army prove that there is currently insufficient pressure on Russia from the world to end this war,” he said.
Differing proposals
Ukrainian and European officials pushed back last week against some US proposals on how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, making counter-proposals on issues from territory to sanctions, Reuters reported on April 25.
The primary areas of difference in the two proposals were over the sequencing for resolving questions over territory, the lifting of sanctions on Russia, security guarantees and the size of Ukraine’s military.
American proposals called for US recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea,
In contrast, the European and Ukrainian proposal defers detailed discussion about territory until after a ceasefire is concluded.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on April 27 that Ukraine should not agree
Despite the divergent views, Mr Trump’s national security adviser on April 27 said the meeting with Mr Zelensky showed his determination to reach a deal.
“That meeting is going to go down in the history books for President Trump, to be a president of peace,” National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
Mr Waltz said Mr Trump has “expressed his frustration” at the leaders of both nations but remained determined to help negotiate an agreement. He also said the US and Ukraine would eventually reach an agreement over rare earth minerals and that talks continued at the weekend.
Democrats in the US Congress have criticised Mr Trump’s approach to the conflict and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on April 27 that he was concerned Mr Trump would “cave in to Putin”.
“To just abandon Ukraine, after all the sacrifice that they made, after so much loss of life, and with the rallying of the whole West against Putin, it would just be a moral tragedy,” Mr Schumer said on CNN’s State Of The Union.
He added that siding with Russia in the conflict would tear apart alliances with Europe and embolden dictators around the world. REUTERS
