US nears trilateral talks on Ukraine, House Speaker Johnson says
Photo: US House Speaker Mike Johnson (Getty Images)
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said Donald Trump’s administration was planning trilateral talks aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine and believes it is already very close to making them happen.
Johnson said he spoke with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the weekend. He learned about Washington’s plans from them.
"They are working to bring an end (to the war - Ed.)," Johnson said.
According to him, the US wants to hold trilateral talks.
"They’re right on the verge of that," the speaker stressed.
"There's a lot of moving parts to this, and the administration is doing everything possible to bring an end to that conflict," he added.
At the same time, Johnson warned against trusting the Kremlin. "We have to treat him as such," he said.
Moscow says it is ready to return to negotiations. Following a meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg on October 21, Putin agreed to resume the trilateral format. According to the Kremlin, talks could begin after November 10, while Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov cited a different date — after November 4.
Trump’s special envoy Jared Kushner recently said there had been encouraging progress, while Trump himself claimed that an end to the war was closer than ever. According to media reports, the US president wants Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin to sign a peace agreement at the G20 summit in Florida in December.
