US President Donald Trump has expressed hope that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will move to end the war in Ukraine, but acknowledged that the latter may be reluctant to strike a deal.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, frankly. I think Putin is tired of it. I think they’re all tired of it, but you never know,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News on 19 August.
“We’ll find out regarding President Putin in the next few weeks … He may not want to make a deal,” Trump said, adding that Putin will face a “difficult situation” if that doesn’t happen.
Trump also said that Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his opinion, “get along better” than he had previously thought, and would therefore hold one-on-one talks first and then with him.
“I wouldn’t say they’ll ever be best friends, though,” the US president said.
“I hope Putin behaves himself,” he added. – Otherwise, we’re going to be in a difficult situation.”
Trump again called it impossible for Ukraine to join NATO and return Russia-occupied Crimea to it. As part of the war settlement, he said Kiev would get “a lot of land,” likely referring to territories now occupied by the Russian military.
As part of the security guarantees offered to Ukraine, France, Germany and Britain want to station troops in the country, the US president said. The United States, he said, will not do so.
Trump said he assumes Moscow is willing to agree to this. The Kremlin has repeatedly said it does not support the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine as part of a peace settlement.
The day before, the US president held a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after which Donald Trump said he was preparing a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, which would be followed by trilateral talks with his participation as well.
The Kremlin has not confirmed plans for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, saying only that Moscow may “explore the possibility of raising the level of representatives” at the Ukraine-Russia talks. And Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia was not rejecting any format of peace talks on ending the war against Ukraine: neither bilateral nor trilateral.
At the same time, Lavrov said that any contacts involving the first persons of states should be prepared. “Any contacts with the participation of leaders should be prepared with the utmost care,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president emphasised that he was ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin, which could turn into a trilateral one – with the participation of US President Donald Trump. “We are ready for any format at the level of leaders, because only at the level of leaders we can solve all complex, painful issues … so I confirmed, and I was supported by all European leaders, that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin, and after that we expect a trilateral meeting,” – said Zelensky.
The exact date and venue of the possible meeting has not been announced yet.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin within the next fortnight.
Trump recently suggested that his meeting with Zelensky and Putin should be held in Alaska as his summit with the Russian leader.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with TF1 television channel that the meeting between Zelensky and Putin could take place “in Europe”. According to him, it will be organised not in France, as in the meeting between Zelensky and Putin in 2019, but in a “neutral country”