President Donald Trump of the United States on Sunday urged Russia to stop its attacks in Ukraine, while his top diplomat said the United States might walk away from peace efforts if it does not see progress.
Trump, while speaking to reporters in New Jersey, said he was disappointed that Russia has continued to attack Ukraine, and said his one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican on Saturday had gone well.
“I see him as calmer. I think he understands the picture, and I think he wants to make a deal,” Trump said of Zelenskyy.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said the Trump’s administration might abandon its attempts to broker a deal if Russia and Ukraine do not make headway.
“It needs to happen soon. We cannot continue to dedicate time and resources to this effort if it’s not going to come to fruition,” Rubio said.
DAILY POST reports that Trump and Zelenskyy, in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, met in a Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The meeting was said to be the first between the two leaders since an angry encounter in the White House Oval Office in February and comes at a critical time in negotiations aimed at bringing an end to the conflict.
The Republican rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin after that meeting, saying on social media that there is no reason for Russia to shoot missiles into civilian areas.
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, in a pre-taped interview that aired on the CBS program “Face the Nation” on Sunday, said Russia would continue to target sites used by Ukraine’s military.
