Trump-Zelenskyy meeting might not immediately lead to Putin summit - WP
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: president.gov.ua)
The White House doesn’t particularly expect that today’s meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders will immediately lead to a trilateral summit with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, according to The Washington Post.
It should be noted that today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House and meet with US President Donald Trump. They will discuss details regarding the end of the war.
According to a White House spokesperson, the US hopes to hold a trilateral meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy, and Putin by the end of this week.
“The official, however, cautioned that the White House does not necessarily expect Monday’s meeting to result in that,” the WP added.
Meeting with Putin and peace in exchange for territory
In recent weeks, President Trump announced plans to meet with Putin and later suggested a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy to end the war in Ukraine.
On the night of August 16, a meeting between the US and Russian leaders took place in Alaska, with one of the main topics being the Russia-Ukraine war.
It was initially expected that the summit would result in an immediate ceasefire and the start of negotiations to end the war. However, Trump later shifted his position and began promoting the idea of a full peace agreement.
Yesterday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff explained that this step is linked to significant progress made during US-Russia negotiations.
Trump himself described the meeting as successful and believes the war can be ended. Media outlets have already reported on the terms under which Putin is allegedly willing to conclude the conflict.
Specifically, Russia reportedly demands the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donetsk in exchange for freezing the frontlines in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Additionally, Russia is said to be willing to discuss withdrawing its troops from parts of the Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
Russia also has a number of other demands, including issues related to the status of the Russian language. More details can be found in the RBC-Ukraine article.
Witkoff reportedly announced yesterday that the White House meeting with Zelenskyy may include discussions of territorial concessions to Russia.
