Trump insists on Putin and Zelenskyy meeting to end war – media
US President Donald Trump on Monday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin to meet with him face to face at a peace conference as part of a long-term US initiative to end the war in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
"Zelenskyy quickly embraced the idea of a three-way summit. But after speaking with Putin, Trump said in a social-media post that Zelensky and Putin would have to hold one-on-one talks first. Only then might a meeting among the three leaders take place. In a sign that the rapid developments may have left even participants confused, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in an interview on Fox News that Putin had in fact agreed to meet with Zelensky, despite the Kremlin’s more equivocal public statement," the report said.
But it remained unclear what exactly the White House might offer to bridge the sharp differences between Moscow and Kiev, and what role the United States would play in helping European countries secure peace.
Britain and other European powers have proposed creating a so-called “pacification force” that would be deployed to Ukraine if a peace deal is reached to deter further Russian attacks.
Trump said on social media late Monday that the White House talks had focused on security guarantees that European countries would provide to Ukraine, with the United States playing a “coordinating” role. He and European leaders agreed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would lead a working group of national security advisers and NATO representatives to draft security guarantees for Ukraine, European officials familiar with the talks said.
According to them, the security guarantees will consist of four components: military presence, air defense, armaments and monitoring of the cessation of hostilities. The United States can provide indirect military support to European peacekeepers without sending American soldiers to the site.
During a closed meeting, Finnish President Alexander Stubb called the eastern Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk "a bastion against the Huns," which, according to officials, impressed Trump.
Zelenskyy reportedly did not rule out a territory swap during his talks with Trump, but said it would be difficult to relocate populations and circumvent Ukraine’s constitutional prohibitions on giving up territory. However, Zelenskyy said he could consider a "proportionate swap."
The idea of a three-way summit appears to remain elusive. The Kremlin gave an evasive response, saying only that a meeting between senior Ukrainian and Russian negotiators was being discussed. But there was no word on whether the Russian leader would meet with Zelenskyy, and no mention was made of the possibility of a three-way meeting.
