By Enyichukwu Enemanna
European leaders taking part at the ongoing G7 Summit in France have urged the US President, Donald Trump to try to break the deadlock over ending the Ukraine war by accepting a proposal for him to host talks between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.
The US leader lamented “the great antipathy” between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders that made it difficult to reach a settlement, and vowed to do what he could. He said Moscow “should make a deal”, noting that it had “lost a great many people, just like Ukraine”.
Zelenskyy, who is attending the 3-day summit in the spa town of Évian-les-Bains at the invitation of the French President Emmanuel Macron, is attempting to re-engage Trump in the hope that the US administration will be less distracted now it has agreed a 60-day ceasefire in Iran.
Macron, caught on a hot mic at the summit, was heard admitting to Zelenskyy he had had difficult discussions with Trump on Monday concerning Ukraine.
Speaking at a morning session of G7 leaders and Zelenskyy, Trump said he would do what he could, and German sources claimed Trump recognised that Russia was in a weaker position than previously.
The leaders of the G7, which comprises the US, Japan, France, Canada, the UK, Italy and Germany, also agreed to step up sanctions on Russian energy.
The European Union is already preparing its 21st sanctions package, including restrictions on the sale of LNG tankers to Russia.
Zelenskyy, who was not initially scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with Trump scheduled, eventually met the US President alongside Macron for his first face-to-face meeting in four months.
Zelenskyy tried to convince Trump that Ukraine was no longer losing on the battlefield, and the US role should not be that of a messenger between the two sides but of a mediator supportive of Ukraine. The meeting delayed the beginning of the full summit.
Trump spoke to Zelenskyy and Putin on Sunday before travelling to the G7 and claimed both men were open to a meeting. He described the death toll in the war as “ridiculous”.
