During the meeting in Washington, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the United States of America Donald Trump discussed the real situation on the battlefield, the release of prisoners and the return of abducted children, efforts to achieve a durable peace, security guarantees, and bilateral cooperation.
The Head of State thanked the U.S. President for the invitation, for his personal involvement in bringing the war to an end, and for today’s meeting.
“This was the best of our meetings. This is important. I was even able to show all American colleagues many things on the map regarding the situation on the battlefield. Who controls what – not by hearsay, but in reality – who controls what on the battlefield, on our land, on our territory that we control, and on the temporarily occupied territories,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
According to the President of Ukraine, the key topic of discussion was security guarantees for our country. In particular, U.S.–European joint work was discussed.
“It is important that the United States of America sends a clear signal that it will be among the countries that will help, coordinate, and participate in security guarantees for Ukraine. I believe this is a big step forward,” the Head of State said.
Special attention was given to the release of prisoners and the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. The President of Ukraine expressed particular gratitude to the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, for the letter she conveyed to Vladimir Putin concerning the Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, and for her attention to this issue.
This matter is one of the most painful for Ukrainians, as it concerns at least 20,000 deported children. Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Donald Trump to convey a letter of gratitude from the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, to Melania Trump.
Thousands of Ukrainians – both military and civilians – remain in Russian captivity, some of them since 2014 when Russia began its war against Ukraine. The Head of State emphasized that their release must become an obligatory part of the peace process.
“We discussed this with the President of the United States of America. He agrees that the system is complicated, but he will help me regarding an all-for-all exchange. Not only of prisoners of war but also of civilians – journalists, political prisoners. We agreed to work on this,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
Donald Trump supported holding a trilateral meeting at the level of leaders of Ukraine, the United States, and Russia. The President of Ukraine once again confirmed that our state is ready to work as productively and as quickly as possible to bring this war to an end. He is convinced that the most sensitive issues can only be resolved at the level of leaders.
In addition, bilateral cooperation was discussed during the meeting. In particular, Ukraine is ready to cooperate with the United States in the sphere of drones – to sell the most modern UAVs, as well as to jointly produce them. The relevant proposal was presented to President Trump.
