US President Donald Trump said in comments at the White House on Thursday that he is open to meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin – even if Putin refuses to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – in the coming days to help push forward peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
His comments come hours after a senior Trump administration official said that the planned meeting between Trump and Putin would not move forward unless Zelensky is also at the table.
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“[The] United States expects that Putin should meet with Zelensky for the meeting in order for a meeting with Trump to occur,” the official told Kyiv Post’s chief Washington correspondent.
But Trump said that no such requirement existed in his later comments to the press. “No, he doesn’t,” he said.
“[Putin] would like to meet with me, and I’ll do whatever I can to stop the killing,” Trump added.
The update came after the Kremlin welcomed a potential meeting between Trump and Putin but rejected Zelensky’s participation, with Putin saying that “certain conditions” need to be met without elaboration.
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Trump also confirmed that his Aug. 8 deadline for Russia to make progress towards peace or face sanctions still stands.
“We’re going to see what he has to say. That’s going to be up to him,” he said when asked about tomorrow’s deadline.
Kyiv Post learned from diplomatic sources that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has delayed his planned upcoming foreign trip to a third nation to be available for potential meetings with Moscow.
The Kremlin said the Trump-Putin meeting could happen as early as next week.
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