Zelensky leaves White House unscathed as he buys more timepublished at 05:35 British Summer Time
Vitaly Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring’s Russia editor
Image source, Getty ImagesThe optics could not have been more different this time.
Unlike the shockingly ill-tempered previous meeting in February, US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky seemed determined not to look confrontational – despite their remaining differences.
Zelensky wore a collared suit (although not of the classical variety), and Trump complimented his attire. The Ukrainian president also repeatedly said “thank you”, which must have pleased his host, too.
At his opening appearance in the Oval Office, Zelensky spoke little – or maybe he was not keen to, fearing that what he had to say was different from what Trump wanted to hear.
Differences showed later, when the US and Ukrainian presidents appeared before journalists together with European leaders.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron both said a ceasefire in Ukraine should be the next step, even though Trump had argued that it was not necessary before a more permanent solution is found.
Zelensky remained conspicuously quiet on the issue.
What we heard from the leaders suggests that their discussions behind closed doors focused on security guarantees for Ukraine and prospects for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.
Read the rest of our analysis here, external.
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