US President Donald Trump said early this morning that he has begun arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss a pathway to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump said a peace agreement ‘is attainable’ as he met Zelenskiy and European leaders at the White House yesterday.
“I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskiy,” Trump said in a social media posting following lengthy talks with the leaders.
“After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years.”
Trump did not specify when either sit-down would occur.
He said his meetings yesterday centred around security guarantees for Ukraine, which “would be provided by the various European countries, with a co-ordination with the United States of America.”
“Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine,” Trump wrote.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is planning to make a promise to buy $100 billion worth of US weapons in a bid to induce Trump towards security guarantees for Ukraine, according to a report in the Financial Times.
The UK paper reported that the massive package of US weapons would be carried out partly through financing from European allies.
The proposal would also include a $50bn agreement for Ukraine and the US to produce drones with Ukrainian companies.
Meanwhile, European leaders – who rushed to Washington in support of Ukraine – urged Trump to insist that Putin agree to a ceasefire in the war before any talks can advance.
Trump previously backed that proposal but reversed course after meeting with Putin on Friday, instead adopting Moscow’s position that any peace agreement be comprehensive.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he liked the concept of a ceasefire but the two sides could work on a peace deal while the fighting continued.
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