Behind the scenes at the G7: Trump meets Putin and Zelenskiy with unclear outcomes

At a quiet lakeside town in France, world leaders gathered for a major meeting. Among them were Donald Trump, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Trump later claimed he had productive discussions with both. But what does "productive" really mean here? Zelenskiy and his team arrived with a clear goal. They wanted to show Trump that Ukraine's recent drone attacks deep inside Russia were changing the game. The message was simple: Ukraine is fighting back harder than ever. But Trump didn't seem to pick a side. When asked if Russia was to blame for the war, he dodged the question. His response? "I don't want to comment because I'm trying to solve this. " That sounds like avoiding the hard truth.On sanctions, Trump kept things vague too. The U. S. might consider penalties against Russia, he said. But it all depends on oil prices dropping. Right now, oil prices are falling fast. Is that a strategy or just waiting to see what happens? It's hard to tell. Putin and Zelenskiy both left the meeting without major announcements. No deals were made, no big promises shared. That’s unusual for a gathering meant to solve a war. Maybe the real talks happened behind closed doors. Maybe not. One thing is clear: Trump isn’t rushing to take sides or impose tough actions. He’s playing a waiting game. But wars don’t wait. Every day without clear decisions keeps the conflict alive.