Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held bilateral talks with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
Zelensky subsequently said in his speech that he had discussed Ukraine's air defense with Trump and that the conversation had been productive and significant. "The groundwork for a ceasefire agreement is now even better prepared," he said.
According to the president, the documents to end the war are almost ready, although "Russia must also be ready to end the war." At the same time, he announced that negotiators from the US, Russia, and Ukraine will meet in the United Arab Emirates on Friday or Saturday.
His words were confirmed by Trump, who also described the meeting as "very good" and told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the war in Ukraine must end.
The talks between the US and Ukrainian leaders lasted about an hour. Trump also indicated that peace efforts are progressing. His envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are preparing for talks in Moscow, where they will seek an agreement to end the conflict.
In his speech, Zelensky further compared Europe to a "fragmented kaleidoscope of small and medium-sized powers." According to him, most leaders of the old continent and the whole world are just waiting for the United States to calm down on the issue of Greenland.
He also pointed out the difference between the American and European approaches to people they consider criminals. "Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is on trial, while Russian President Vladimir Putin is not yet," the Ukrainian leader emphasized.
He also criticized the European Union for not yet using frozen Russian assets. However, as Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever warned, this would be a serious violation of international financial law, and Europe would lose the trust of its trading partners who deposit their assets in clearing instruments such as Euroclear.
"Why can Trump stop tankers and seize oil, but Europe cannot do the same with Russian oil?" Zelensky asked, to which the head of the Élysée Palace, Emmanuel Macron, responded by announcing that the French navy had captured a tanker in the Mediterranean Sea that allegedly belonged to the shadow fleet.
According to the Ukrainian leader, Europe needs a united armed force, by which he probably meant an alliance similar to the European Army or NATO without the United States. "NATO exists only because of the belief that the US will act," explained the Ukrainian president.
He also ironically assessed the reaction of eight European countries to threats against Greenland. "If you send 40 soldiers to Greenland, what signal does that send? These soldiers will not secure anything," he said, warning that this is what "the consequences will be if you refuse to help people fighting for democracy."
Zelensky also compared the approaches of Moscow and Brussels. On the one hand, he said, Russia is "trying to freeze Ukrainians to death," while Europe "remains a fragmented kaleidoscope of small and medium-sized powers," indirectly questioning the EU's strength in negotiations with the US and Russia.
However, he later added that the continent can and should be a global power.
(reuters, sab)