Trump confirms he will meet Putin and urges Zelensky to be prepared to sign something!

US President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that he will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “very soon” as part of his mediation efforts to end the war in Ukraine, which he said will include a “land swap” between the two warring countries.

He indicated that Zelensky should be willing to “sign something” to resolve the conflict.

“I’ll be meeting with President Putin very soon,” Trump said during a trilateral summit with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“The meeting could have happened sooner, but it appears there are security arrangements that need to be made”.

“We’re talking about an area where fighting has been raging for more than three and a half years,” he added.

“It’s complicated, and it’s not really easy, but we will reclaim part of it,” he said.

Moscow is demanding that Ukraine cede four partially occupied regions—Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson—as well as Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

It’s also demanding that Ukraine abandon Western arms supplies and any potential NATO membership.

Kyiv on the other hand, rejects these demands, insisting on the withdrawal of Russian forces from its territory and the receipt of Western security guarantees, including continued arms deliveries and the deployment of a European force, which Russia opposes.

These contacts came on the day that the deadline set by Donald Trump for Russia last week to advance negotiations with Kyiv, under threat of US sanctions, was expected to expire.

The latest round of direct negotiations between the two sides in Istanbul last July resulted in a new exchange of prisoners and the remains of soldiers only.

Russia’s armed attack on Ukraine in February 2022 killed at least tens of thousands on both sides and caused massive destruction.

However, after more than three years of fighting, the conflict between Ukrainian and Russian demands remains tense. Russia is accused of obstructing negotiations by maintaining its high demands even as its forces advance on the ground.

In an effort to move the needle forward, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to the Kremlin on Wednesday, where he was received by the Russian president.

This accelerated diplomatic efforts, with Moscow announcing on Thursday a “preliminary agreement” for an upcoming summit between the US and Russian presidents.

This meeting, if it takes place, would be the first between the two men since a meeting in Japan in June 2019.

Neither the date nor the location have yet been announced.

Putin held a phone call on Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his upcoming meeting with Trump.

Putin informed his Chinese counterpart of the outcomes of his discussions on Wednesday with US envoy Steve Witkoff regarding the conflict in Ukraine, the Kremlin announced.

China expressed its “happiness to see Russia and the United States in communication, improving relations, and discussing a political settlement to the Ukrainian crisis,” the Chinese president was quoted as saying by the Chinese Xinhua News Agency.

Xi pointed out that there are no simple solutions to complex issues, stressing that “China will always support… peace and dialogue”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for his part, announced on Friday that he had held good talks with “friend” Vladimir Putin.

In a statement on social media, Modi revealed that “India will host the Russian president later this year,” as Putin’s last visit to New Delhi was in December 2021.

The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin briefed the Indian Prime Minister on the “outcomes” of his meeting with the US envoy.

Putin received the National Security Advisor to the Indian Prime Minister in Moscow on Thursday.

The meeting took place the day after the United States decided to impose a 50% tariff on Indian imports, claiming that New Delhi was buying Russian oil.

Washington has threatened to target countries that conduct trade with Russia, such as India and China.

Asked Thursday whether he would uphold the deadline he set for his Russian counterpart, which expires Friday, Trump said, “It’s up to Putin, and we’ll see what he says”.

“Very disappointed,” he added, apparently referring to the Russian president.

In July, Trump repeatedly expressed his displeasure with Putin amid the lack of progress in negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.

The positions of Kyiv and Moscow remain very different.

The last round of direct talks between the two sides in July in Istanbul resulted in only a new deal to exchange prisoners of war and the remains of soldiers.

The Russian army continues its heavy aerial bombardment and ground attacks on the front lines, where it outnumbers and outguns Ukrainian forces.

Moscow has ignored repeated calls from Kyiv and allied European capitals for a 30-day ceasefire.