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Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov plays down the possibility of a meeting with Zelensky
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An agreement has been reached for Putin and Trump to meet ‘in the coming days’ to discuss a ceasefire, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed.
Despite Trump suggesting there was “a good chance” of a summit involving Zelensky, Ushakov said that a trilateral meeting “was for some reason mentioned by Washington” but had not been discussed with the Kremlin.
The venue for the meeting has been decided and is due to be announced later, he added
A face-to-face meeting would be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021, some eight months before Russia launched the biggest attack on a European nation since the Second World War.
Earlier, Trump said his envoy Steve Witkoff made “great progress” in a meeting with Putin in Moscow, adding: “Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come.”
The US has a better understanding of the conditions under which Russia would be prepared to end its war in Ukraine after president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin, secretary of state Marco Rubio said.
The key elements of any ceasefire agreement would involve territory, he said.
“For the first time perhaps since this administration began, we have some concrete examples of the kinds of things that Russia would ask for in order to end the war,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow”.
Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, president Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday.
In a social media post yesterday evening, Zelensky said he and Donald Trump spoke on the phone after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin.
He said “European leaders also participated in the conversation,” and “we discussed what was said in Moscow.”
“It seems that Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that the pressure on Moscow “is working,” without elaborating.
The Ukrainian war-time leader stressed it was important to make sure Russia does not “deceive us or the United States” when it comes to “the details” of a potential agreement.
Kyiv proposes that Ukraine and its allies soon “talk to determine our position, our common position, and our common view.”
If the proposed bilateral talks between the US and Russia go beyond a ceasefire in Ukraine and encompass wider issues of security, that might be sufficient to convince Putin to show up – and even invite Zelensky along, too, says Mary Dejevsky:
And on the battlefield:
What next?
Putin touted the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a potential location for the summit.
With the venue yet to be announced, all eyes are on where the two presidents could meet.
This toxic relationship is weird and dangerous for the West. World affairs editor Sam Kiley explains why:
With the summit venue yet to be announced, all eyes are on where the two presidents could meet.
Here, The Independent looks at the countries that could set the stage for the momentous occasion:
Trump made a condition of a meeting with Putin that the Russian leader also meets Zelensky.
Asked about the possibility, Putin said: “I have already said many times that I have nothing against it in general, it is possible.”
“But certain conditions must be created for this. But unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions,” Putin added, distancing himself from a meeting.
Zelensky previously offered to meet in May to discuss ending the war. Putin did not accept the request.
Putin has said interest in a US-Russia meeting was “mutual” and that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a potential location for the summit.
The Russian leader’s travel options are restricted an international arrest warrant over the alleged removal of children from Ukraine to Russia during the war.
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