Trump talks with Putin and Zelensky
- President Donald Trump said April 26 he has “good conversations” with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he pushes, again, for a Ukraine settlement. - The Kremlin says the U.S.-mediated three-way Ukraine track is “on hold,” with the last meeting in February and a March 5 round postponed. - The pause coincides with the Iran war diverting diplomacy and attention from Ukraine. (politico.eu)
President Donald Trump said Sunday, April 26, that he is still speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about ending the war in Ukraine. (usnews.com) In a Fox News interview, Trump said he has “good conversations” with both men but did not say when the most recent calls took place. He said the “hatred” between Putin and Zelenskyy is “ridiculous” and insisted a deal “will happen.” (usnews.com) That public optimism is colliding with the Kremlin’s own description of the diplomacy. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in March that the U.S.-Russia-Ukraine “three-way group is on hold.” (politico.eu) According to Peskov, the last round involving the three parties was held in February in Geneva. A follow-up meeting scheduled for March 5 in Abu Dhabi was postponed indefinitely after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. (politico.eu) Zelenskyy has been warning that the Middle East crisis is crowding out Ukraine. In a BBC interview cited by Politico, he said talks were “constantly being postponed” and blamed the war in Iran for the delays. (politico.eu) The Iran track has now pulled Putin into a separate set of urgent negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Russia on April 27 after Trump canceled a planned trip by U.S. envoys to Pakistan, where indirect U.S.-Iran diplomacy had been expected. (nbcnews.com) NBC reported that Araghchi met Putin as Trump urged Tehran to “call” if it wanted a deal. Araghchi said in Russia that U.S. “excessive demands and incorrect approaches” had caused the peace talks to falter. (nbcnews.com) Trump’s Ukraine comments also land after weeks of fresh strain with NATO allies over the Iran war. On April 1, The Associated Press reported that Trump had been openly criticizing NATO and suggesting he could try to pull the United States out of the alliance. (usnews.com) So the picture at the end of April is split in two: Trump says he is still talking to Putin and Zelenskyy, while Moscow says the formal U.S.-mediated channel is paused and Iran has moved to the front of the diplomatic queue. (usnews.com) (politico.eu) (nbcnews.com)
