Donald Trump had another change of heart in his fluctuating relationship with the Russian president and said that the imminent meeting with Vladimir Putin is not in any way conditioned to a second meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, despite the Ukrainian president’s claim not to be left out of negotiations involving the ongoing war in his territory.
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The possible meeting between the presidents of the United States and Russia coincides with Trump’s ultimatum for the Russian government to agree to a ceasefire in the war caused by its invasion before this Friday, under the threat of imposing a series of sanctions.
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What did Trump say about a possible meeting with Putin?
“He would like to meet with me and I will do everything I can to stop the deaths,” argued Trump during a brief encounter with the media in the Oval Office, where he once again labeled the numbers of victims as a “shame” resulting from the war in Ukraine.
The US president opened the door to a future meeting with Putin that, according to the Kremlin, will take place “in the coming days”.
On Wednesday, Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin in Moscow and, according to NBC News, later informed the President of the United States about the Russian president’s desires to arrange a prompt meeting.
Trump’s wishes were for Zelensky to also participate in the meeting, but he clashed with the Russian president’s refusal.
When journalists asked the President of the United States if the ultimatum is still valid, Trump simply said “it depends on him,” referring to Putin.
The claim of Ukraine
President Zelenskiy said this Thursday, in a speech to the nation, that “Ukraine must participate in the negotiations.”
“The war in Russia is against Ukraine, against our independence (...) Therefore, the format of the leaders’ meetings should be trilateral,” declared the Ukrainian president, although he still thanked Trump “for his willingness to seek real solutions.”
The meeting between Trump and Putin could take place in the United Arab Emirates according to Russia’s proposal.