Trump will meet with Putin first, then with him and Zelenskiy together – NYT
6 August 22:30
US President Donald Trump is planning to meet with Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin in person next week, and then organize a joint meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This was reported by the NYT, citing two people familiar with the White House’s plans, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
According to the sources, Trump spoke about his intentions during a phone call with European leaders on Wednesday.
The planned meetings are to be held exclusively with the participation of the three leaders – without representatives of EU countries. Although Europe is trying to coordinate efforts to end the war and supports Ukraine, the call participants allegedly took note of Trump’s position.
It is not yet known whether Putin and Zelenskyy agreed to the proposed format. However, Zelenskyy participated in the call and later said that he had “a conversation with President Trump” and that the position of Ukraine and European partners remains unchanged: “the war must end, but fairly.”
The call was also attended by the British Prime Minister, the German Chancellor, the NATO Secretary General, US Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed that Vitkoff had held a several-hour meeting in Russia with Putin, but did not mention his own plans for the summits.
“After that, I briefed some of our European allies. Everyone agrees that the war must end, and we will work on this in the coming days and weeks. Thank you for your attention to this issue!” Trump wrote.
The publication writes that earlier this year, Trump held a personal meeting with Zelensky during the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome. At the time, French President Emmanuel Macron tried to join the conversation in St. Peter’s Basilica, but Trump refused to do so, as he usually prefers bilateral contacts.
Despite his continued efforts, Trump has been unable to make any headway in negotiations to end the war, which has been going on for more than three years. He has repeatedly expressed skepticism about American military assistance to Ukraine, and earlier this year he harshly criticized Zelenskyy during a meeting at the White House that was broadcast on camera. However, due to slow progress in the negotiations, Trump recently approved an increase in arms shipments to NATO allies destined for Ukraine.
For several months, Trump has been trying to give Putin space for dialogue, but has recently publicly criticized him, saying that the Russian leader is “playing for time.” Vitkoff’s meeting with Putin in Moscow came after Trump threatened Russia with secondary sanctions for lack of progress in the peace process.
