Trump plans for Putin-Zelenskyy meeting as he notes 'tremendous bad blood' between them

Vancouver Sun

9 hours ago

President Donald Trump said he's begun arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a pathway to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Trump affirmed that the U.S. would back European security guarantees but stopped short of committing U.S. troops to a collective effort to prevent Moscow from reinvading its neighbour.
Yesterday, important talks took place in Washington with the President of the United States and European leaders. This was truly a significant step toward ending the war and ensuring the security of Ukraine and our people. We are already working on the concrete content of the…
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Here's the latest:
Putin's arrest warrant complicates a Zelenskyy meeting
French President Emmanuel Macron said it could happen 'in Europe' and he's advocating for Geneva in Switzerland, although he said it could be another 'neutral' country. He noted in an interview with French television TF1-LCI broadcast Tuesday that Istanbul hosted the most recent bilateral discussions, in 2022.
Meanwhile, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said his country would be prepared to organize such a summit, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported.
Asked about the complication posed by the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Putin, Cassis said 'the aim of receiving Mr. Putin in Switzerland without him being arrested is 100% achievable … of course, if he comes to Switzerland for the purposes of peace, for such a multilateral conference, not if he comes for private matters.'
Cassis said arranging for Putin to avoid arrest would require 'a certain procedure,' but it could be done 'in a few days.'
A call for speeding up Ukraine's membership in the European Union
European Council President Antonio Costa called for 'Russia must immediately end the violence' in Ukraine after a virtual meeting of the 27 heads of state of the European Union's member nations. 'Our top priority must be to stop the killings — whether we call it a ceasefire or a truce is secondary,' Costa told reporters Tuesday.
I spoke with the
@eucopresident
, António Costa.
He has just chaired a meeting of the European Council dedicated to the outcomes of our negotiations that we and our European colleagues held with President Trump in Washington. We have taken an important step toward ending this war…
Economic pressure via sanctions should be maintained on Russia to end the war, and Ukraine's candidacy to join the EU should be accelerated, he said: 'Ukraine's future is not only about strong security guarantees and their finding a potential peace deal with Russia, but also about its European path. This is why we must move forward with the enlargement process.'
Views from Ukraine: No illusions for sudden peace
A Ukrainian political analyst says this Zelenskyy meeting with Trump 'went satisfactorily.'
'The task of this meeting was to prevent Trump from pressuring Ukraine with Russian demands. We managed to achieve that 100%. We managed to explain that the issue of territories is not just about land — it's about people. There can be no exchange,' Oleh Saakian said.
'For Ukraine, the meeting with Putin is important to show Trump whether Russia is really ready to end the war. It is important to demonstrate that Ukraine has done everything possible on its side,' Saakian said. 'I don't think anyone in Ukraine has the illusion that a meeting with Putin could suddenly bring peace. It's not as if at a meeting with Zelenskyy, Putin will suddenly say: 'Yes, I was mistaken, I confess, I withdraw the troops, I give back the territories.''
Trump says leaders of Russia and Ukraine unlikely to become 'best friends'
Trump says Putin and Zelenskyy are getting along 'a little better than I thought,' noting the 'tremendous bad blood' between them.
He said his perception of their relationship is why he's arranging for them to meet one-on-one soon, instead of a three-way meeting with himself as sort of a mediator.
'I think they're doing OK. I wouldn't say they are ever going to be best friends, but they're doing OK,' the president told Fox News Channel's 'Fox and Friends.'
'You know, they're the ones that have to call the shots,' Trump said. 'We're 7,000 miles away.'
Trump says he didn't speak with Putin with European leaders in the room
The president said he thought it would have been disrespectful to handle the phone call that way since Putin and the European leaders meeting with him at the White House haven't had the 'warmest relations.'
But despite that, he said during an interview on Fox News Channel's 'Fox and Friends' that he has managed to maintain a 'very good relationship' with Putin.
Trump was holding talks at the White House on Monday with Zelenskyy and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO on ending Russia's war on Ukraine
Trump says admitting Ukraine into NATO and the return of Crimea are 'impossible'
The president, in a morning interview on 'Fox & Friends,' said that he's optimistic a deal can be made to bring an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
But Trump underscored that Ukraine will have to set aside both its hope of a returned Crimea, which Russia seized by force in 2014, and its aspirations to join the NATO military alliance.
'Both of those things are impossible,' Trump said.
Putin, as part of any potential deal, is looking for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.
Next steps in the negotiations turn back to Putin
Trump, who bragged on numerous occasions during the campaign that he could settle Russia's war in Ukraine in a day, said repeatedly Monday that it was far more complicated than he ever thought it would be.
But he also suggested — likely implausibly — that the fighting that has raged for years could wind down quickly.
'A week or two weeks, we'll know whether we're going to solve this, or if this horrible fighting is going to continue,' said Trump, even suggesting the issues yet to be hammered out weren't 'overly complex.'
Still, much remains unresolved, including red lines that are incompatible — like whether Ukraine will cede any land to Russia, the future of Ukraine's army and whether the country will ultimately have lasting and meaningful security guarantees.
Zelenskyy says meeting with Putin should be held 'without any conditions'
Zelenskyy says that if he starts to set conditions for the meeting, regarding a potential ceasefire or other matters, then Russia will want to set conditions, too, potentially jeopardizing those talks.
'That's why I believe that we must meet without any conditions,' he told reporters.
Zelenskyy said Trump showed him a map of the Ukraine front lines in the Oval Office and they got into a little debate about territories it showed. But they didn't argue, he said.
'We had a truly warm, good and substantial conversation,' Zelenskyy said.
NATO leader says 'Article 5 kind of security guarantees' will be discussed in coming days
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says Trump agreed that the United States would contribute to Ukraine's security following a peace deal, a development he called 'a breakthrough.'
Membership in NATO is not on the table, but the U.S. and European leaders are discussing 'Article 5 kind of security guarantees for Ukraine,' Rutte said in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Article 5 of the NATO treaty says an attack on one member nation is an attack on all members, the heart of the transatlantic defense compact.
Details around U.S. involvement in Ukraine 'will be discussed over the coming days,' which will give Zelenskyy the clarity he needs to decide whether Ukrainians can remain safe following a peace deal.
'It is important to also know what the situation will be with the security guarantees to prevent Vladimir Putin from ever, ever trying again to invade parts of Ukraine,' Rutte said.
The possibility of U.S. troops in Ukraine was not discussed Monday, he said.
Zelenskyy deploys gratitude diplomacy for second visit to Oval Office
Zelenskyy made sure to show his gratitude to Trump during Monday's meeting.
In fact, he said thanks nine times to Trump and others in the first minute of their brief public meeting that preceded a short news conference.
'Thanks so much, Mr. President,' he said. 'First of all, thank you for the invitation and thank you very much for your efforts, personal efforts to stop killings and stop this war. Thank you.'
In February, Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump quickly spiralled into a public relations disaster when Vice President JD Vance berated him for not being sufficiently thankful.
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