French media, Le Figaro, felt humiliated by the photos published by American media Fox News before EU leaders met with Trump, which showed European country leaders sitting on a long bench outside waiting, and American media comments that European country leaders were queuing like schoolchildren to meet Trump.
The French media commented that France is a nuclear power, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and does not need to act according to the Americans' wishes.
The White House released photos of a closed-door meeting between US President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy: the two presidents stood next to a map. Both presidents looked unhappy, and their meeting ended after about an hour.
Zelenskyy said after the meeting that elections in Ukraine are possible, but "as long as hostilities continue, they cannot be held," and Trump retorted, "So if you start a war for another three years, there will never be an election? You will no longer be legal, that's why Putin doesn't want to see you."
According to Fox News in the United States, during the Alaska meeting, Putin handed over a book containing photographs and petitions of more than 1,000 Ukrainian armed forces prisoners to Donald Trump, which had been rejected by Kyiv.
During the meeting, US President Trump told Zelenskyy that he had reviewed the list and it was real. Trump said, "The list includes 1,000 people, more than 1,000 prisoners. You (Ukrainian authorities) must accept these people. They (the Russian side) intend to release them. I have a book that records each person on the list."
Trump said that Putin's visit to Alaska was great, Trump said, "European media said that since Vladimir Putin arrived on American territory, this was a big defeat for Donald Trump. No, he did it very well. Honestly, it was very difficult for Putin to do this. But the opposite is true, arriving was really great."
Trump said to European leaders, "I think Vladimir Putin wants the conflict to end. I've known Putin for a long time, and our relationship with him has always been good."
Trump said to European leaders about whether the US military would be deployed in Ukraine: "Europe should prepare to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, the US will not send troops, but will provide assistance, and Ukraine will never join NATO."
Trump said, "If we go back to a distant period, long before President Putin, there have always been claims that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO."
In this meeting with European leaders, US President Trump initially failed to recognize the Finnish president sitting directly opposite him.
The Finnish president Stubb, speaking to European leaders and US President Trump, said, "We have a long border with Russia and have historical experience in dealing with Russia. We found a solution in 1944, and I believe we can also find a solution (for the Ukrainian peace) in 2025."
After hearing this, Trump praised Stubb greatly, saying, "Finland is a model for Ukraine. You Zelenskyy must learn from them."
Looking back at history, the "Finlandization" process ended the last Soviet-Finnish war in 1944. Finland maintained its sovereignty during this process, but promised not to take any actions against the Soviet Union in its internal and external policies. According to the peace treaty, Finland also ceded some territories to the Soviet Union.
Yesterday, Zelenskyy, Trump, and European leaders failed to reach an agreement on facilitating a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also rejected the Russian-American proposed ceasefire demands, which required concessions on territorial issues. European leaders stated that they would continue to strive for a comprehensive agreement to peacefully resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and Europe will continue to provide military aid to Ukraine, including weapons purchased from the US and providing them to Ukraine, and exerting pressure on Russia (increasing sanctions).
Trump also said that a trilateral meeting between the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and the US would be held, but whether it could proceed smoothly would depend on Putin and Zelenskyy's willingness. In my opinion, even if the trilateral meeting could be held, it would not determine substantial progress on the Russia-Ukraine issue.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7540112553490383403/
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