Washington (TDI): After White House talks with European leaders and Ukraine’s President, Trump is actively pushing for a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy – something Zelenskyy has wanted for a long time.
So far, the stalled peace talks are now gradually making headway since the Alaska Summit last week between Trump and Putin. European leaders have brought up the matter of security guarantees for Ukraine and the US has agreed to cooperate on the same.
But the matter of immediate ceasefire, which is still a top priority for Europe, and of territorial controls – a top priority of Ukraine, are still in limbo.
The Ukrainian President is hopeful that these issues will be addressed if a direct meeting with Putin happens, on which there is no clear word from Kremlin yet.
“What is very important is that all the sensitive things — territorial, etc. — we will discuss on the level of leaders during the trilateral meeting,” he said.
Read More: White House Talks – 10 Days to Work Out Security Guarantees for Ukraine
Trump even said that he contacted Putin during the meeting with Zelenskyy and the European leaders. The exact contents of this talk, however, remain unknown.
If a Putin-Zelenskyy Summit happens, it will be followed by a trilateral meeting with Trump as well. Kremlin earlier said that Trump and Putin did discuss the possibility of more Russian and Ukrainian representatives in future talks, during Alaska Summit.
Russia currently holds 20% of Ukraine’s territory, and wants full control of four eastern regions, including Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson. Ukraine has, so far, ruled out any peace plans in which it has to lose territory to Russia.
While skepticism exists that Trump might or already has agreed to freezing the war, allowing Russia to keep the territory it holds, Zelenskyy said that the matter of territory will be discussed in direct talks, if and when they happen.
Meanwhile, European leaders have kept their focus on security guarantees, humanitarian aspects, and an immediate ceasefire.
The Diplomatic Insight is a digital and print magazine focusing on diplomacy, defense, and development publishing since 2009.
