On the 30th (local time), after twists and turns, the United States and Ukraine signed a mineral agreement, and reports have surfaced that a private meeting between the leaders of both countries four days ago was a crucial factor in reaching the negotiation.
In particular, there is an analysis that the decision by the Donald Trump administration to include the phrase “full-scale invasion of Russia” in the announcement of the mineral agreement may have been influenced by the private meeting, despite previously hesitating to mention Russia's responsibility for the war.
The political news outlet Axios reported, citing two sources, that “Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, used the private meeting as an opportunity to persuade President Donald Trump.”
The private meeting took place for 15 minutes at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican just before the funeral of Pope Francis on the morning of the 26th. At the time, President Zelensky reportedly urged President Trump to increase pressure on President Vladimir Putin of Russia and to push for a temporary ceasefire ahead of permanent peace negotiations.
After the private meeting, President Trump posted on social media, saying, “It seems that he (Putin) does not intend to stop the war,” and mentioned the possibility of additional banking sanctions or secondary sanctions against Russia.
According to sources, President Zelensky told President Trump that while Ukraine is not afraid to make concessions to end the war, there must be strong security guarantees to do so. It is reported that during the private meeting, President Trump pressured President Zelensky to conclude the mineral agreement between the two countries as soon as possible.
Reports indicate that there are concerns that the process of initiating the private meeting could deteriorate into conflicts similar to those that occurred during the White House meeting on February 28. However, after the private meeting, President Zelensky is said to have assessed that he succeeded for the first time in changing President Trump's thoughts about President Putin.