Zelensky: Trump needs to be convinced that Putin is lying

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that American leader Donald Trump needs to be convinced that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is lying in the context of a peaceful settlement. He said this in an interview with Spiegel magazine.

Zelenskyy asked if he is concerned that Trump is putting "much more" pressure on Ukraine than on Putin.

"Trump needs to be convinced that Putin is lying. And we have to approach the matter reasonably and show that we are not the ones who are slowing down these processes," the president said, referring to the settlement of Russia's war against Ukraine.

"And that's why I'm doing what I'm doing, undoubtedly for Ukraine, but also so that other countries, not just the United States, can see that Putin does not want this. Because if they realize this, we can expect pressure from different sides," the head of state continued .

He added that he expects a new package of sanctions from the United States. According to the president, he is strong and very dangerous for Russians.

• on May 1, Politico wrote that Trump has somewhat changed his rhetoric toward Putin after months of non-public diplomatic efforts by Macron and Starmer.
• On May 8, Volker said that Trump is offering Russia different options to end the war against Ukraine, hoping to appease the Kremlin.