'Nonsense': Czech minister says Putin not serious about peace, praises Trump for effort

Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavský said Russian President Vladimir Putin is not at all serious about peace negotiation talks. Had he been, he would not have attacked Ukraine all day, the minister commented on the Alaska summit between Donald Trump and Putin.

The summit remained inconclusive but now Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet Trump Monday in Washington. "I welcome that President Trump is trying to stop the war, that he is continuously discussing it with European leaders, and that he will inform us in Europe about the outcomes of today’s negotiations, including President Zelensky," the Czech minister said. "From Putin, we heard the same propagandistic nonsense about the “roots of the conflict” that his state television promotes.

The problem is Russian imperialism, not Ukraine’s desire to live freely. And let us not forget that these words also conceal Putin’s attempt to return the security architecture to 1997, to a time when the Czech Republic was not yet part of NATO. It is in our existential interest to prevent such scenarios," the minister said.

"If Putin were serious about negotiating peace, he would not have been attacking Ukraine all day today," he said.

Putin and Trump made brief statements after their nearly three-hour meeting but there was no deal. Putin said how Ukraine poses "fundamental threats" to Russian security. Trump called the talks "extremely productive" but he confirmed that they did not reach a deal.European leaders expressed support for a three-way summit between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia's Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump, after a US-Russia summit failed to produce a ceasefire.

A statement, signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, insisted on maintaining pressure on Russia until peace was achieved, including through sanctions.Zelenskyy, who was not invited to Alaska for the summit, said he had a “long and substantive” conversation with Trump early Saturday. He said they would “discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war” on Monday. It will be Zelenskyy’s first visit to the U.S. since Trump berated him publicly for being “disrespectful” during an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on February 28.