During his 17 October meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump reportedly pressed him to accept Russia's conditions for ending the war, warning that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had threatened to "destroy" Ukraine if it refused.

Source: Financial Times, citing sources

Quote: "Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Russia's terms for ending its war in a volatile White House meeting on Friday, warning that Vladimir Putin had said he would 'destroy' Ukraine if it did not agree. The meeting between the US and Ukrainian presidents descended many times into a 'shouting match', with Trump 'cursing all the time', people familiar with the matter said."

Details: Although Ukraine eventually convinced Trump to back freezing the current front line, the tense encounter underscored the volatility of his stance on the war and his apparent willingness to accommodate Putin's extreme demands, the FT wrote.

European officials briefed on the meeting said Trump appeared to echo many of Putin's talking points almost verbatim, even when they contradicted his own recent remarks about Russia's weakness.

According to one European official, Trump told Zelenskyy he should make a deal or face destruction, warning him: "If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you."

At one point, the US president reportedly pushed aside maps of the battlefield, dismissing further discussion of the situation.

The FT confirmed that during their phone call on Thursday, "Putin made a new offer to Trump on Thursday under which Ukraine would surrender the parts of the eastern Donbas region under its control in exchange for some small areas of the two southern frontline regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia".

The proposal was described as only a minor concession compared to Putin's previous offer during his August meeting with Trump in Alaska, when he suggested freezing the front line elsewhere if Ukraine ceded Donbas.

According to the FT, Trump's aggressive repetition of Putin's rhetoric during the Friday meeting "dashed hopes among many of Ukraine's European allies" that he could be persuaded to strengthen support for Kyiv.

Three other European officials briefed on the White House discussions confirmed that Trump spent much of the meeting lecturing Zelenskyy, reiterating Putin's arguments about the war and urging him to accept the Russian offer.

One of the officials said Zelenskyy was "very negative" afterward, adding that European leaders were "not optimistic but pragmatic with planning next steps".

Background:

• After his 17 October meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump said that Ukraine and Russia "must stop where they are".
• Zelenskyy agreed with Trump, saying: "We have to stop where we are now."
• According to media reports, during the meeting Trump indicated that he is not currently considering providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles.
• As reported by The Washington Post, in his conversation with Trump, Putin demanded full control over Donetsk Oblast to end the war, hinting that he was prepared to concede parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts in return.
• Zelenskyy rejected the possibility of transferring any additional non-occupied territories to Russia.

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