Trump announces the beginning of arrangements for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky
Following his meetings in Washington with US President Donald Trump and several European leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that security guarantees for Ukraine could be formally determined within ten days.
He explained at a press conference that international partners would announce details of these guarantees soon, noting that regional issues related to a potential peace agreement would be discussed directly between Kyiv and Moscow.
Zelensky confirmed his willingness to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, which has been ongoing for more than three years, with the possibility of holding a trilateral summit later.
He indicated that the issue of ceding territory claimed by Russia would be discussed directly between him and Putin.
For his part, the US President announced that he had begun arrangements for a peace summit between Zelensky and Putin, to be followed by a trilateral summit with his participation.
Trump explained that he had called the Russian president after the meetings and had begun coordinating to determine the meeting location.
He also confirmed that Europe, in cooperation with the United States, would provide security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a potential peace agreement.
Trump emphasized that European countries would be at the forefront of security support given their geographic proximity to Ukraine, confirming that Washington would provide additional support.
Zelensky described this step as an important step toward ending the war, as the upcoming summit received broad support from the leaders of Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Finland, and the European Union, who accompanied Zelensky on his visit to Washington, as well as the NATO Secretary General.
In a related development, US and European sources reported that Trump cut short his talks with European leaders to hold a direct call with Putin, where they discussed the idea of raising the level of representation in the Ukrainian talks.
The Kremlin confirmed that the call was “frank and constructive,” without specifying the nature of the proposed representation.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Putin had agreed to meet with Zelensky within two weeks, while NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg indicated that security guarantees for Ukraine were the focus of the discussion, without addressing the issue of Kyiv’s membership in the alliance.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for tougher sanctions on Russia if peace negotiations fail, stressing that the issue of territorial concessions was not discussed during the meetings, and that the current priority is security guarantees.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb expressed skepticism about Putin’s intentions, stating that the Russian president is “rarely trustworthy” and that his participation in the trilateral summit would demonstrate his seriousness in ending the conflict.
It’s worth noting that the Swiss government has announced that it will grant Russian President Vladimir Putin special immunity if the meeting is scheduled to take place on Swiss soil.
This comes in light of the arrest warrant issued by the International Court of Justice in connection with violations committed during the war.
