Zelenskyy on his meeting with Trump in the Vatican: Maybe it was the shortest, but the most substantive

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the meeting with his American counterpart Donald Trump in the Vatican "the shortest but most substantive". The head of state said this at a meeting with journalists, reports Suspilne.

The president says he discussed with Trump a subsoil deal, sanctions against Russia and strengthening Ukraine's air defense.

"With President Trump, I think we had the best conversation of all. It may have been the shortest, but it was the most substantive. With all due respect to our teams, but the one-on-one format, in my opinion, worked," Zelensky said .

He added that the US contribution to the investment fund for the minerals agreement could be air defense systems. The head of state expressed the opinion that the fund and the agreement itself provide an opportunity to protect future US investments.

"To protect, in particular, our land and our people with air defense. And so we are ready for air defense systems to contribute. I told him about the required number – he promised that they would work on it, and these are not free things," Zelensky said, adding that he would like to be able to buy weapons from the United States.

• on April 26, Trump and Zelenskiy met at the Vatican, before the burial ceremony of Pope Francis. It was the first meeting between the politicians since their spat at the White House on February 28.
• The US presidential administration said that Trump and Zelenskiy "had a very productive discussion." The Ukrainian leader later praised the meeting with his American counterpart and noted that they "managed to discuss a lot of things one-on-one."