Zelenskyy: Trump's 'big agreement' talk could be 'dangerous' — 'We don't want Yalta 2'
President Trump said on Thursday that he had met Russia's envoy Kirill Dmitriev and promised 'a big agreement' that 'might involve all of Europe'. President Zelenskyy told CNN he does not know all the details of the framework, calling it 'not simple, and it can be dangerous', and said Russia has shown no sign of readiness for a settlement. He rejected talks about a new security architecture for Europe — 'We don't want to have Yalta, Yalta 2' — and said sovereignty and territorial integrity are essential.
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Key points
- Trump, on Thursday: he met Russia's envoy Dmitriev and promises a 'big agreement' that might involve all of Europe — but would not say what was discussed.
- Zelenskyy, to CNN: he does not know all the details; 'for me it's not simple, and it can be dangerous'.
- His test: Russia has shown no signal of readiness — 'That's why it's dangerous' — and he rejects a new security-architecture carve-up: 'We don't want Yalta 2.'
- What the framework contains is not public, and Moscow has confirmed none of it.
What happened
President Trump floated the framework on Thursday in the Oval Office, confirming he had met Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian presidential envoy who had taken part in a White House event hosted by the first lady earlier that day. Beyond the promise of a sweeping agreement that he said would leave everyone pleased, he gave no terms.
President Zelenskyy's response, in an interview with CNN excerpted on Friday, is the first from Kyiv: support for a ceasefire and de-escalation, but a warning that talks shaped around a new European security architecture — rather than a settlement Russia has signalled readiness for — would repeat the great-power carve-ups he invoked with the name of Yalta, the 1945 conference that redrew Europe's order.
Both sides, in their own words
Both sides heard. Neither believed for free. Publishing a side's version is not endorsing it — the claim checks below are where verdicts live.
Side A · Ukraine's president
- Zelenskyy says he does not know all the details of the framework and that it 'can be dangerous' while Russia shows no sign of readiness.
- He rejects talks on a new European security architecture — 'We don't want to have Yalta, Yalta 2' — and holds sovereignty and territorial integrity as essential.
Side B · The US president
- Trump says he met Russia's envoy Dmitriev and promises 'a big agreement' that will involve more than Ukraine and might involve all of Europe.
- He declined to say what was discussed: 'I can't tell you what I discussed.'
Independently verified
Trump's own words, in the Oval Office on Thursday: asked what he had discussed with Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, whom he confirmed he had met, the president said it is 'going to be an agreement, it's going to be a big agreement', that it will involve more than Ukraine and 'might involve all of Europe' — and declined to say what was discussed. Zelenskyy's answer, in a CNN interview excerpted on Friday: asked what he knows about the framework, he said he does not know all its details: 'Between us, for me it's not simple, and it can be dangerous.' He said there are many propositions and talks, some of them useful and very important, and stated his support for a ceasefire followed by de-escalation. His reasoning: Russia has shown no demonstration or signals of readiness to do something — 'That's why it's dangerous.' He argued that when Russia does not want to speak about a settlement it opens talks on a new security architecture in Europe, which he called dangerous for all of Europe, and added: 'We don't want to have Yalta, Yalta 2.' He said sovereignty and territorial integrity are essential for any independent country, and that its neighbours must respect them.Not yet verified
What the 'big agreement' framework actually contains — its terms on territory, security guarantees and Europe's wider security order — and whether Russia is ready to take any settlement step: no document has been published, and no Russian statement confirming readiness was read.Claim by claim
Why this label: Verified as the president's own on-record words, reported by Anadolu Agency from the Oval Office exchange. What the agreement would contain is not stated in them — that is carried as not yet verified below.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: His own words in the interview, as reported by Anadolu Agency from the CNN excerpt. Verified as his stated position.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: His own words in the same CNN interview, as reported by Anadolu Agency. Verified as his stated position; whether Russia is in fact ready for any step is a separate claim, carried below.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
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Why this label: Not yet verified: the framework exists so far only in the two presidents' remarks; its contents are unknown, and Moscow has not confirmed any part of it.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That Trump met Dmitriev and promised a 'big agreement' in his own words on Thursday.
- That Zelenskyy has responded on the record: he does not know all the details, backs a ceasefire then de-escalation, and rejects a Yalta-style format.
What we don't know yet
- What the framework contains — no document or term sheet has been published.
- Whether Russia is ready for any settlement step — Moscow has given no confirming statement that was read.
- Whether Ukraine has been or will be shown the full framework, and by whom.
Why it matters
The shape of any settlement decides whether Ukraine negotiates its own future or has it arranged over its head. Kyiv's president has now said, on the record, that he has not seen the full framework the US president is promising — and that the gap between the promise and Russia's silence is itself the danger.
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Published in Checking state — checking continues, and claims are labelled as reporting develops. Basis: both presidents' own on-record words, as reported by Anadolu Agency.