Donald Trump sends scathing message to Vladimir Putin following meeting with Zelenskyy
Donald Trump has sent a message to Vladimir Putin after his meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Vatican ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis.
Before they stepped out to participate in the pope's funeral someone had found them chairs so they could have a discussion, and they were pictured speaking before the funeral.
It was the first time since Zelenskyy was berated at the White House by Trump and JD Vance that the two had met face to face, and this appeared to be a far more serious conversation.
The noises made after the meeting were somewhat encouraging, with the White House saying it was a 'very productive discussion' and Zelenskyy calling it a 'good meeting'.
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Speaking of what they discussed, the Ukrainian president said: "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."
Meanwhile, Trump posted after the meeting as well in a lengthy tirade on Truth Social, his own social media platform.
Most of what he was ranting about was a journalist from the New York Times who he thought wasn't praising his attempts to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump also complained about what he called 'the Obama Crimea Giveaway' and how his political opponents weren't being criticised for the US stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine before he finally got round to a message for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Referencing the recent attacks on Kyiv, he wrote: "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!!!"
The attack had come just hours after Trump had accused Zelenskyy of preventing a peace deal from going through, a deal that would allow Russia to keep pretty much all of the Ukrainian territory it has occupied.
Zelenskyy has made it clear that Ukraine does not intend to sign over territory, including Crimea which was annexed by Russia back in 2014.
After the latest round of Russian attacks on civilians the US president called it 'very bad timing' and told Putin to 'stop' his missile attacks.
Topics: Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Russia
Joe Harker