Trump explains why Putin doesn’t want meeting with Zelenskyy

"Because he doesn't like him. I have people I don’t like. I don't like to meet with them," Trump said.

He added that Zelenskyy does not like Putin either.

Zelenskyy–Putin meeting

After the Washington summit, US President Donald Trump suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a bilateral meeting.

According to media reports, the Kremlin proposed holding talks in Moscow, but Zelenskyy refused. The White House, meanwhile, considered Budapest as an option, though this has not been officially confirmed.

Zelenskyy stated that a meeting with Putin should only take place on neutral ground in Europe, such as Austria or Switzerland. He has also not ruled out the possibility of talks in Türkiye.

At the same time, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that Putin was supposedly ready to meet the Ukrainian President "only if all the issues requiring discussion at the highest level are well worked out."

Russian officials also said that Ukraine and Russia have not yet moved closer to holding a summit at the top level, stressing that a Zelenskyy–Putin meeting would be possible only once the agenda is agreed.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian President is convinced that the Russian side is doing everything possible to prevent the meeting from happening.

Trump, for his part, stressed that he will know what to do if Putin refuses to meet with Zelenskyy.