While US President Donald Trump has called for meeting, the Kremlin has rejected the possibility of holding bilateral talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, the BBC reports.
The call for the bilateral meeting comes after Trump met with Putin on the 15th of August, and seven European leaders and Zelensky visited the White House on the 18th of August. The US president has acknowledged that the conflict is difficult to resolve and agreed that Putin is not interested in ending the hostilities. The US president has said it would be better if Zelensky and Putin met without him, but at the same time noted that if necessary, he could participate in the meeting of both.
The Russian dictator told Trump on the 18th of August that he was open to the idea of direct talks with Ukraine, but the next day Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the already very vague answer. Repeating the Kremlin’s frequent statements, Lavrov said that any meeting should be prepared gradually, starting with experts and then taking all necessary steps.
Russia’s deputy representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky told the BBC that no one had ruled out the possibility of talks, but the meeting should not be held only for the meeting’s sake.
NATO military leaders are expected to hold a virtual meeting on the 20th of August, while the head of the British military, Admiral Tony Radakin, will travel to Washington to
discuss the possible deployment of a peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.
On the 19th of August, Putin reportedly suggested to Trump that Zelensky could go to Moscow for a meeting, an option that Ukraine cannot agree to. Meanwhile, meetings with Europeans in recent days seem to have given Trump a new understanding of the complex nature of what is happening, and the huge gap between Moscow’s demands and Kyiv’s position. Trump’s promised ceasefire has not materialized, and now the US president has said that Ukraine and Russia should immediately reach an agreement on a permanent peace. Talks have begun on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Trump has indicated that in the event of a ceasefire or a peace agreement, the US could help Europe with air power if Europe ensures the presence of ground forces, but he ruled out the possibility of sending US troops to Ukraine. However, Trump did not elaborate on whether the air assistance would mean intelligence or the supply of fighter jets.
The US president’s promises are vague,
while the coalition led by France and Britain has said it is working on specific plans to prepare forces for deployment to Ukraine if the fighting ends.
While its army is making limited progress on the front, Russia has shown little interest in peace talks. European leaders and Zelensky have spoken in favor of bilateral talks. The Ukrainian president said on the 18th of August that he is open to meeting with Putin in any format, and the Europeans have made suggestions for a possible meeting place.
However, European leaders are noticeably less optimistic about a quick end to the war than Trump. French President Emmanuel Macron on the 19th of August called Putin “a predator and an ogre on our doorstep,” and expressed doubts about the Russian dictator’s desire to end the hostilities. Finnish President Alexander Stubb noted that Putin can rarely be trusted, and was skeptical about a possible meeting between Zelensky and Putin.
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