G7 Summit: Trump Considers Reinstating Sanctions on Russian Oil, Zelensky Invites Putin to Meet in the US

On June 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. Following this first meeting with Zelenskyy in four months, Trump said the US could reinstate sanctions on Russian oil, which were suspended during the war with Iran, according to Air force.

Among other things, the G7 held a general meeting on June 16 with the participation of the Ukrainian delegation. The leaders of the seven countries again agreed to "increase pressure on Russia."

Zelenskyy's official social media accounts published photos of his conversation with Trump in the joint meeting room. Judging by the photos, in addition to the two leaders, the conversation was attended by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

On the subject: Robots are changing the course of the war in Ukraine and forcing Russia onto the defensive.

After a brief meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that they discussed, among other things, Ukraine's obtaining licenses to produce American anti-aircraft missiles.

"We discussed this with President Trump, and our teams will work on it. God willing, we'll succeed this time in obtaining licenses to produce the relevant anti-ballistic systems and missiles," Zelensky noted.

After the meeting, Donald Trump announced that now, after the end of the war with Iran, the United States may reinstate sanctions against Russian oil.

"We'll be able to do that soon because the oil is flowing now," the American president said, apparently referring to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The day before, Trump said the strait was partially open, but Washington and Tehran, judging by all the leaked information about the talks, had not yet reached a final agreement on Iran opening it. The US suspended sanctions on Russian oil already loaded onto tankers in order to contain prices after the strait's closure.

Donald Trump once again stated that Russia should agree to a peace agreement, and that the entire war in Ukraine is, in his view, stupid.

"Look, Russia has to make a deal! Russia has lost a huge number of people, and so has Ukraine. Last month, they lost 35 troops between them. It's crazy what's going on there," Trump concluded.

The White House chief did not explain where he got this data on the total losses of both sides in May. The Ukrainian side claims that only Russia suffered approximately the same irreparable losses in May. Zelenskyy likely mentioned these figures during his meeting with Trump.

Was Putin invited?

Zelenskyy told reporters yesterday that Ukraine had offered Russia to arrange a meeting between him and Putin in Evian, where the G7 summit was taking place.

"We conveyed the message that we are ready to meet with Putin during the G7 summit because Trump and Macron will be there—that is, the Europeans plus America. I think this is a very good opportunity for everyone to meet together," Zelenskyy said.

Citing an anonymous source, RBC-Ukraine reported that the proposal was conveyed through intermediaries, diplomats, and intelligence channels. There was no response from Moscow.

However, on June 16, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov assured that Russia had not received official proposals for a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

On June 15, Zelenskyy mentioned another possible location for a meeting with Putin. The day before, Donald Trump spoke by phone with both Putin and Zelenskyy, and the Ukrainian president stated that the possibility of a trilateral meeting in the United States was mentioned in these conversations.

"Such a meeting could be organized in the United States in a format that would be significantly more difficult for Putin to refuse—at least for President Trump," the Ukrainian leader noted.

However, Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said on June 16 that Putin and Trump discussed nothing of the sort during their June 14 phone call, and that Russia had not received any proposals for such a meeting.

The G7's "Ukrainian" meeting

On June 16, the leaders of the G7 countries held a joint meeting with the Ukrainian delegation dedicated to the war.

According to Zelensky, all participants in the meeting agreed that Russia is not winning the war.

"It's wonderful that everyone understands that Russia is not winning, and we must work to end this war," he concluded, noting that air defense assistance to Ukraine was once again discussed at this meeting.

"We discussed both the systems and the missiles. We won't go into detail about that right now," the Ukrainian president emphasized.

The leaders of the G7 countries agreed to "increase pressure on Russia through sanctions on gas and oil."

As British Prime Minister Keir Starmer assured, after this meeting he had “a sense of unity in the G7, a consensus that the situation is changing.”

"Ukraine has demonstrated that it is capable of not just defending itself, but also recapturing territory and dealing significant blows to Russia," Starmer concluded.

According to international news agencies, the summit's host, French President Emmanuel Macron, invited Zelensky to stay until the end of the summit, that is, until June 17, so that he could meet with the leaders of the remaining G7 countries and again with Trump.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

In addition to Macron and Trump, Zelenskyy met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on June 16, as he announced on social media.

Zelenskyy wrote that he spoke with Merz, in particular, about strengthening Ukraine's air defenses and the results of Ukrainian strikes deep within Russian territory.

Zelenskyy said he discussed sanctions against Russia, military cooperation, and, in particular, Canada's participation in funding the production of Ukrainian drones with Mark Carney.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Russian agents are behind a series of arson attacks targeting the British Prime Minister.

Russia is building barracks and fortifications on its borders with NATO countries.

Zelensky wrote an open letter to Putin, inviting him to meet and discuss peace.

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.