Trump says Putin-Zelensky meeting will take place ‘very soon’
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Vanguard
Donald Trump says a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will be organised “very soon”, as the United States steps up efforts to revive negotiations over the war in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky has discussed a trilateral meeting with Washington and Moscow in November, which could take place in the United Arab Emirates, according to AFP.
US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky would be organised “very soon”, reports AFP. “There will be a meeting very soon and I think a lot of progress could be made,” he told journalists.
The announcement comes as the US administration steps up its diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that a trilateral meeting between Kyiv, Washington and Moscow was planned for November to revive peace talks, while the Kremlin had mentioned a meeting in the United Arab Emirates.
Vladimir Putin has so far refused to meet Volodymyr Zelensky directly and maintains that Moscow wants to take control of the rest of eastern Ukraine, according to AFP. US-led talks over more than a year have not produced a breakthrough, as the war has entered its fifth year.
Donald Trump’s announcement comes a day after Vladimir Putin invited Zelensky to Moscow, offering security guarantees for the Ukrainian president. It also follows calls by the Finnish and Norwegian leaders to end the war, published on 27 October.
