‘Putin is difficult’: Trump says after ‘very nice’ meeting with Zelensky at NATO summit

US President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday (Jun 25) on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague. Following the meeting, which lasted 50 minutes, Trump said, “I wanted to know how he’s doing,” and said the meeting was “very nice” even though they “had little rough times” in the past. He added that he is “hopeful” that the three-year-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine can be resolved. Meanwhile, Zelensky said on social media that he had a “long and substantive” meeting with the US president. The two leaders discussed how to reach a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, he added.

“I think he’d like to see an end to this. I do. I think what I took from the meeting couldn’t have been nicer, actually, but I took from the meeting that he’d like to see it end. I think it’s a great time to end it. I’m going to speak to Vladimir Putin see if we can get it ended,” Trump said.

After the meeting, Zelensky posted on X, “I had a long and substantive meeting with President Trump. We covered all the truly important issues. I thank Mr. President, I thank the United States. We discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and a real peace. We spoke about how to protect our people. We appreciate the attention and the readiness to help bring peace closer. Details will follow.”

The US president said that the “Ukraine war is more difficult, Putin is difficult, and I had some differences with Zelensky.” Likely referring to the infamous White House showdown when the two leaders got involved in a shouting match in the Oval Office, Trump said, “You know, we had a little rough times sometimes, but he couldn’t have been nicer.”

Trump also said that Europe taking more responsibility for its security will help in preventing future disasters like the Russia-Ukraine war. “Europe stepping up to take more responsibility for its security will help prevent future disasters like the horrible situation with Russia and Ukraine, and hopefully we’re going to get that solved,” he said.

When asked about comments from Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whether Russian President Vladimir Putin could have larger territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine, Trump said that it was “possible”. He added, “I know one thing he’d like to settle, he’d like to get out of this thing. It’s a mess for him.”