US President Donald Trump said it would be better if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Russian President Vladimir Putin without him being present. He made the remark while speaking about the possibility of a direct meeting between the two leaders.
“I had a very successful meeting with President Zelenskyy and now I thought it would be better if they met without me, just to see — I want to see what goes on. You know, they had a hard relationship very bad, very bad relationship,” Trump said on The Mark Levin Show.
He added, “And now we’ll see how they do. And if necessary — and it probably would be — but if necessary, I’ll go and I’ll probably be able to get it closed. I just want to see what happens at the meeting. So they’re in the process of setting it up, and we’re going to see what happens.”
White House confirms plans for talks
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that arrangements for a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting are “underway.” She said officials are exploring “many options” to make it happen.
Putin signals willingness to meet Zelenskyy
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, according to US State Secretary Marco Rubio.
“But just the fact that Putin is saying, sure, I’ll meet with Zelenskyy – that’s a big deal. I mean, I’m not saying they’re going to leave that room best friends. I’m not saying they’re going to leave that room with a peace deal. But I think the fact that people are now talking to each other, this wasn’t happening for three and a half years. This was a stalemated war of death and destruction,” Rubio told Fox News’ Jesse Watters.
Rubio explained that the Trump administration was looking at a give-and-take approach to move negotiations forward. However, he added that the key question is what Russia might be ready to offer in return for concessions from Ukraine.
Neutral countries step in as possible hosts
Switzerland and Austria announced on Tuesday that they were ready to host Putin if he traveled for peace talks on Ukraine, despite the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against him.
French President Emmanuel Macron also suggested that a peace summit between Putin and Zelenskyy could take place in Europe, in “a neutral country, maybe Switzerland.”
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said during a press briefing that under specific conditions, Putin could be allowed to enter Switzerland for talks.