Trump signals shift in focus to Ukraine, with Iran war soon in ‘rearview’ – NBC News
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The Iran war is not exactly done and dusted, but President Donald Trump has already turned his sights to ending another conflict.
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Trump had what he called a “very good meeting” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in France on Tuesday and indicated he wants to focus on resolving Russia’s war now that he’s signed an agreement with Tehran.
Iran will soon be “in the rearview mirror,” he said despite uncertainty over the details of the framework deal and doubts about whether it will hold.
In comments to reporters, Trump said he would do “whatever I can” on Ukraine, urging Russia to make a deal and saying that he was going to meet with Zelenskyy again later Tuesday.
He signaled the same shift in focus a night earlier.
“Now that this is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
This would be music to the ears of European leaders after months trying to convince Trump to not forget about the war, which has now been raging on the continent for more than four years.
It comes as Ukraine has shown it can inflict real pain on the Kremlin, using drones and missiles to strike deeper inside Russia and shift the narrative of the war. For its part, Moscow has vowed “systematic” attacks on Kyiv, unleashing deadly strikes early Monday that set ablaze a historic monastery.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said G7 leaders shared a sense that “things are changing” and Ukraine was regaining the initiative.
European leaders will hope mounting domestic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin might soon be matched by renewed pressure from Washington.
But despite Ukraine’s growing sense of confidence, there is little sign of a breakthrough on the battlefield or at the negotiating table.
Still, Trump sounded positive. He said he had “good conversations” with both Putin and Zelenskyy ahead of the summit and that “maybe we can do something.”
It’s the kind of optimism Trump expressed frequently through the months when he actively pushed for a deal to end the conflict, which he had initially promised during his election campaign to resolve in 24 hours.
Despite this new focus, no direct meeting with Zelenskyy was on Trump’s schedule at the G7 summit in the French spa town of Evian-les-Bains.
Sharing a walk with Zelenskyy before the official talks Tuesday, Macron could be heard asking the Ukrainian leader if a bilateral meeting has been set up with Trump, underlining the importance of keeping the U.S. president engaged on the issue.
They ultimately did meet as a trio, a U.S. official told NBC News, before a working meeting with the other leaders that focused on the issue.
“The key focus is to strengthen air defense for Ukraine and advance diplomacy, to make Russia end its war,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X, saying “substantive meetings have already begun.” He later shared photos from a meeting with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying: “it is always important to coordinate positions.”
Trump’s previous diplomatic efforts petered out after he repeatedly pressured Ukraine to cede key territory and favored Moscow’s hard-line demands.
He sounded more accommodating after meeting with Zelenskyy on Tuesday.
“Russia should make a deal,” Trump said. “Russia’s lost tremendous amounts of people, and so has Ukraine.”
European leaders were essentially shut out of the negotiating process last year, but Zelenskyy has insisted that his allies in Europe must be at the table this time. It’s a demand Russia has fiercely opposed, but one that’s also complicated by the simmering tensions between the U.S. and its European allies.
Zelenskyy said Monday that he had offered to meet with Putin at the G7 summit or even in the U.S. for talks. His taunting public letter to the Russian leader earlier this month asking for a face-to-face meeting has been dismissed by the Kremlin.
Asked if there was an official invitation for Putin to attend the summit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday: “Of course not,” adding that there were no official channels of communication between Moscow and Kyiv. Peskov reiterated Putin’s willingness to meet with Zelenskyy in Moscow, something the Ukrainian leader has previously ruled out.
Peskov added that American negotiators could be coming to Russia “soon,” but said there were no clear dates yet as the U.S. was still focused on signing the deal with Iran.
Yuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.
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