Putin 'has to be dealt with differently' warns Trump as he turns after meeting
The US President has broken his silence after his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Vatican, just metres from the coffin of Pope Francis, to suggest he is turning on evil Putin
Donald Trump has spoken out for the first time since his encounter with Volodymyr Zelensky at Pope Francis' funeral, and his words signal a shift in his stance towards Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders were photographed having a private conversation in St Peter's Basilica on Saturday morning, reportedly discussing a potential peace agreement to bring an end to Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has now broken his silence on the meeting with a scathing post on Truth Social, which suggests he is turning against Putin. This comes after Russia continued to launch airstrikes despite the supposed "Easter ceasefire".
Trump wrote: "With all of that being said, there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days."
The US President went on to imply that Putin may have been manipulating him, even hinting at the possibility of imposing further sanctions on the Russian leader.
Trump added: "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?
"Too many people are dying!"
This sudden change in tone from Trump follows Zelensky's own comments on the meeting, which he described as potentially "become historic".
In a post on Telegram, Zelensky said: "Good meeting. One-on-one, we managed to discuss a lot.
"We hope for a result from all the things that were said. Protection of the lives of our people. Complete and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent a recurrence of war. A very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic if we achieve joint results. Thank you, President Donald Trump!"
These optimistic words followed what was described as a "very productive" dialogue by The White House.
According to Rao TV Italia, the 15-minute encounter was arranged following the two leaders' honorific visit to Pope Francis.
The confrontation marked their first since the dramatic escalation tensions in the Oval Office back in February, when Vice President JD Vance chastised Zelensky for his lack of gratitude and inappropriate attire. Meanwhile, Trump's stance on Kyiv has seen ups and downs, with recent comments suggesting Zelensky holds "no cards to play" in negotiations with Russia.
Adding to the tension, a horrific overnight attack on Thursday in Kyiv by Russian forces left at least nine individuals deceased, with around 63 others sustaining injuries in the savage strike.