UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to help bring an end to the war between the two nations, following talks between President Donald Trump’s special envoy and the Russian leader in Moscow.
Zelensky announced this on Thursday, August 7, revealing plans to hold ‘several’ discussions at the meeting, including talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as officials from France and Italy.
“There will also be communication at the level of national security advisors. The main thing is for Russia, which started this war, to take real steps to end its aggression,” Zelensky added.
The ICIR reports that Zelensky and Putin have not held a meeting since December 2019 and have consistently shown open hostility toward each other.
Putin had set some conditions for ceasefire, however, Zelenskiy has consistently said that the sovereignty of his country is not negotiable and that Russia must surrender the territory it has seized from Ukraine.
While President Trump praised Wednesday’s talks between his envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Vladimir Putin as “highly productive,” United States officials said that Trump could meet Vladimir Putin next week.
“There’s a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon,” Trump told reporters.
Zelensky said he had spoken by phone with Trump, who said he could meet with Putin “very soon,” and that European leaders had been on the call.
“We in Ukraine have repeatedly said that finding real solutions can be truly effective at the level of leaders,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
“It is necessary to determine the timing for such a format and the range of issues to be addressed,” he added.
A face-to-face meeting would mark the first encounter between a sitting US and Russian president since Joe Biden met with Putin in Geneva in June 2021, eight months before Russia launched the largest assault on Ukraine since World War II.
Trump’s diplomatic efforts come just two days ahead of a deadline he set for Russia to agree to a peace deal in Ukraine or face additional sanctions.
Trump has voiced frustration with Putin over the stalled progress toward peace and has warned of imposing steep tariffs on nations that purchase Russian exports, including oil.
On Wednesday, Trump also indicated he might impose additional tariffs on China, similar to the 25 per cent duties recently announced on India for its purchases of Russian oil.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.