Donald Trump hints at pulling out of 3-way peace talks with ‘stupid’ Putin and Zelensky | World | News
Donald Trump has sensationally hinted that he could now withdraw from the trilateral Ukraine war peace talks with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. The US President had previously said he would be a part of any crunch summit between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
However, speaking in Washington, Mr Trump told reporters: “We’re going to see if Putin and Zelensky are going to be working together. That’s a little bit like oil and vinegar – they don’t get along too well for obvious reasons. We’ll also see if I have to be there. I would rather not – I would rather they have a meeting and see how they can do – but in the meantime, they continue to fight and they continue to kill people, which is stupid, because they are losing 7,000 people on average a week.”
He continued: “I’ve stopped seven wars. This one I would’ve thought would be in the middle of the pack in terms of difficulty – this is turning out to be the most difficult.”
On Thursday, Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister claimed the Russian President is “ready” to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky. Sergey Lavrov told reporters that Putin had “repeatedly” said he was ready to meet Mr Zelensky, despite the fact the Russian leader had failed to show up at previously arranged meetings.
Speaking to journalists in India, Lavrov said: “Our president has repeatedly said that he is ready to meet, including with Mr. Zelensky, with the understanding that all issues that require consideration at the highest level will be well-developed, and experts and ministers will prepare the relevant recommendations.”
Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the world was about to be granted “an opportunity for peace”, thanks to the US president’s recent efforts.
“Following the encouraging conversations yesterday, [President Trump] spoke with President Putin by phone, and he agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process – a meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky […] followed, if necessary, by a trilateral meeting,” Ms Leavitt said.
She continued that Mr Trump had wanted “from the very beginning” for the two countries to engage in direct diplomacy, “which is why he’s agreeable to the idea of having President Zelensky and President Putin get together, and I understand accommodations for that meeting are under way.”
