Zelensky open to face-to-face talks with Putin as Trump plans trilateral summit amid hopes of ending war

New Delhi (India) August 19: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, indicates a possible turning point in the war's end attempts when he declares his full support for Russia's proposal for a one-on-one meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy says that a trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump will follow the bilateral meeting.

Direct talks likely

Zelenskyy emphasizes the importance of direct communication in a briefing to the media after a series of White House meetings with Trump and European leaders.

He says, “We are ready for any leader-level meetings. This is the only way to solve these complicated and painful issues.” 

Zelenskyy also talks about territorial issues. He argues against a map of Russian-occupied territory that was on display in the Oval Office. He describes the conversation as "warm and meaningful." 

Zelensky says , "I argued about the percentage on the map because I know this percentage very well."

Zelenskyy states that "all of this will somehow be formalized on paper within the next week to ten days." It indicates that security guarantees for Kyiv will likely be finalized shortly. He also says that Ukraine and Russia will directly address territorial concerns relating to a possible peace deal.

Trump sets up meeting

President Donald Trump declares on Monday that he had started arranging for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet. This will be in person meeting to discuss a potential solution to put a stop to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Trump makes the announcement after speaking with Putin over the phone. He also hosts Zelensky and other prominent European officials at the White House to discuss his peace initiative.

Trump posts, “I called President Putin and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat — the two Presidents plus myself. This was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.”

Putin response awaited

Whether Putin has accepted the suggestion is yet unknown. Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov says that both Trump and Putin "spoke in favor" of extending direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives. They also talked about "the idea of raising the level of the direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations."