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Putin proposes bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy before trilateral talks

After that, the Ukrainian president is counting on a meeting between the three leaders. 

Putin proposes bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy before trilateral talks
Meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Photo: EPA/UPG

During a telephone conversation with Donald Trump, Russian leader Vladimir Putin proposed first holding a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and only then communicating with the US president. Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this at a briefing in Washington, adding that Ukraine is ready for any format.

Zelenskyy believes that complex and painful issues can only be resolved at the leadership level. Ukraine does not yet know the details of the bilateral meeting, but he confirmed that he would discuss territory with Putin.

“I confirmed, and all European leaders supported me, that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin. After that, we are counting on a trilateral meeting, the question will be how the bilateral meeting will go,” the president said.

He added that he and Trump discussed the need for all parties – that is, both him and Putin – to demonstrate their desire to end the conflict.

“If one side or the other does not demonstrate a desire to meet, we will ask the United States to act accordingly. Appropriate actions include pressure from the United States. We understand what formats are possible, so there is certainly a possibility that our meeting will take place after all,” the president added.

Zelenskyy emphasised that Ukraine is ready for a meeting at the leadership level and without a ceasefire, so that the Russians do not make counter-demands.

Context

On 15 August, Donald Trump held his first meeting with Putin since the full-scale war began. He received him in Alaska. The goal of the summit was to reach a ceasefire agreement, but no success was achieved in this regard. Trump assessed the meeting positively, but said that Putin allegedly wants to end the war, not the ceasefire. And now Trump himself also says that he wants to achieve an immediate end to the war.

Trump informed the Ukrainian president of the results of the negotiations and invited him to Washington. On 18 August, Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew to the United States, where he first had a bilateral conversation with Trump, and then, with the participation of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Trump interrupted the meeting with European leaders to call Putin.