Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will meet, Donald Trump said after a White House summit with European leaders aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine.
The US President has directly contacted the Russian President to begin preparations for a meeting between the two rival leaders, which he himself will join.
The statement came after Mr Trump said Moscow would “accept” a multinational effort to secure Ukraine that was attended by several European leaders, including the Ukrainian president, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte.
After the meeting, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he and the eight leaders had discussed security guarantees before he contacted the Russian president.
He described the meeting as “very good” and said: “During the meeting we discussed security guarantees for Ukraine that will be provided by various European countries in cooperation with the United States of America.
“Everyone is happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia and Ukraine.
“After the meetings were completed, I called President Putin and began preparations for a meeting at the agreed location between President Putin and President Zelensky.
“After this meeting, we will have a trilateral meeting, which will include the two presidents and myself.”
Ahead of White House talks, the US president said he “probably” could reach common ground with leaders on a plan to prevent future attacks on Ukraine.
Earlier on Friday, he met Mr Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, where he said there would be “no deal until there is an agreement” to end more than three years of war in Eastern Europe.
“The Alaska summit has reinforced my belief that, while difficult, peace is achievable, and I believe an important step is President Putin agreeing to accept security guarantees for Ukraine,” Mr. Trump said on Monday.
“And this is one of the key aspects that we need to take into account.”
He later added: “We should also discuss possible changes in territorial borders, given the current line of contact.”
Trump's special representative Steve Witkoff suggested that the United States consider providing measures similar to NATO's Article 5 on collective defense, under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on the entire alliance, without Kyiv joining the organization.
“The concession we were able to get was that the United States could offer Article 5-like protections, which is one of the real reasons Ukraine wants to be part of NATO,” Mr. Witkoff told CNN over the weekend, referring to the Alaska summit.
The US President added that future trilateral talks “have a good chance” of stopping the conflict.
However, the president appears to hold conflicting views on the need for a cease-fire to end the war.
“I don't think you need a ceasefire,” he said at first, then clarified that “all of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work to establish a lasting peace.”
Starmer welcomed offers of security guarantees after Mr Trump introduced him as a “friend” at the negotiating table.
The prime minister said: “Your offer of security guarantees, a kind of Article 5 style guarantee, is in line with what we are doing in the coalition of the willing that we put together a few months ago, bringing countries together and showing that we are willing to take responsibility for security.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
