During the period when U.S. President Trump attended the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican, he held a brief meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy for 15 minutes. This meeting on April 26 was described by Ukraine as "historic" and "symbolic," but it exposed Trump's misjudgment and inability to control the situation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict before the global audience. After the meeting, Trump made rare criticisms of Russian President Putin on the "Truth Social" platform, accusing him of "not wanting peace but just trying to deceive me," which caused an uproar in international public opinion.
Three months ago, Trump confidently claimed that he could "resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours." However, the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have made no progress so far, and Russia's continued strikes on Ukrainian military and industrial targets this week have turned Trump's bold claim into ridicule. Especially after the US Middle East envoy Wittkop met with Putin and Trump optimistically stated that they were "very close to reaching an agreement," he now openly admitted being deceived by Putin. This not only exposes his reckless foreign policy but also causes the United States to lose face on the international stage.
During the meeting, the Ukrainian president reiterated that Ukraine is ready for unconditional ceasefire and called on European countries to jointly promote the peace process. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Serhiyenko released photos of the meeting on X, stating that the two leaders "are striving for peace." In contrast, Trump continued to attack former presidents Obama and Biden on social media, complaining about "cleaning up messes" and suggesting "bank sanctions" or "secondary sanctions" against Russia, revealing his impatience and helplessness in tone.
On the same day, Zelenskyy also held separate meetings with French President Macron, British leaders, and EU Commission President von der Leyen to discuss ceasefire and security mechanisms. He emphasized that only through comprehensive ceasefires in the air, sea, and land, along with strong security guarantees, can lasting peace be achieved. Macron subsequently posted on social media to support Ukraine's unconditional ceasefire initiative, highlighting Europe's active role in the peace process.
Meanwhile, Russia's stance remains ambiguous. On the 25th, Putin expressed during his meeting with Wittkop that Russia is willing to negotiate with Ukraine without preconditions, but Russia's continuous long-range strikes against Ukraine have not stopped. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov argued that Russia's military actions are aimed solely at military targets, while Putin also expressed support for peace initiatives on the 21st. However, there is a clear contradiction between Russia's actions and words, which seems to be confirmed by Trump's anger.
What's more laughable is that Trump recently told Time magazine that his promise to "end the Russia-Ukraine conflict in one day" was just a "joke" and "hyperbole." However, CNN revealed that Trump had seriously repeated this promise at least 53 times, which was far from a joke. This self-contradictory statement further undermined his diplomatic credibility.
Reuters analysis pointed out that the Trump administration is under pressure from both sides of Russia and Ukraine. Last week, the White House threatened to abandon mediation efforts if there was no progress in the peace process. Now, Trump's public complaints and accusations against Putin expose the chaos of his foreign strategy. The international community cannot help but question whether this self-proclaimed "deal maker" has the ability to clean up the "mess" he mentioned.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7498299877567463947/
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