The latest meeting between the two leaders follows Trump’s Friday talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which he stated that it is now up to Zelenskyy to agree to concessions that he believes could bring the war to an end.
US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced optimism on Monday that high-level discussions held at the White House with Ukrainian and European leaders may pave the way for trilateral negotiations involving Russian President Vladimir Putin. The latest meeting between the two leaders follows Trump’s Friday talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which he stated that it is now up to Zelenskyy to agree to concessions that he believes could bring the war to an end. Trump also claimed that he has ended six wars in the last six months.
“The war (Russia-Ukraine) is going to end. When it ends, I can’t tell you but the war is going to end and this gentleman (Zelenskyy) wants it to end and Vladimir Putin wants it to end. I think the whole world is tired of it. We are going to get it ended. I have ended 6 wars and I thought that maybe this would be the easiest one. And it’s not the easiest one. It’s a tough one…India-Pakistan, we are talking about big places. You take a look at some of these wars, you go to Africa and take a look at that. Rwanda and the Congo – that has been going on for 31 years. We have done a total of six, not including the fact that we totally obliterated the future nuclear capability of Iran…I feel confident that we are going to get this war off,” Trump added.
Zelenskyy gives nod for trilateral talks
Zelenskyy also expressed openness to trilateral talks. “We are ready for trilateral as the President said…It’s a good signal about the trilateral…I think this is very good,” Zelenskyy said. He further said that he is ready to hold elections in Ukraine. When asked whether he is prepared to conduct elections in Ukraine after a peace agreement, the Ukrainian President replied, “Yes, absolutely, I am ready to hold elections, but we must do so under safe conditions. We need security in order to conduct elections.”
Trump to call Putin after meeting with Zelesnkyy
Trump said he had communicated “indirectly” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and intends to speak to him directly over the phone later in the day. During his White House talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump noted that the possibility of a trilateral dialogue between the United States, Ukraine and Russia is still open. He added that Putin is awaiting his call once the ongoing meetings wrap up. “I will call Putin after this meeting… We may or maybe not have a trilateral meeting and then the fighting continues… I think we have a good chance to end the war. He is expecting my call when we are finished with this meeting,” Trump added.
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