The US President has been leading efforts to bring an end to the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv.
US President Donald Trump has reiterated his call for discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, advising the latter to demonstrate greater adaptability.
Trump’s comments came on Tuesday, following a meeting in Washington involving Zelensky, various European leaders, and the heads of NATO and the European Commission. The core of these discussions revolved around potential peace agreement terms with Russia. This meeting took place after Trump’s summit with Putin in Alaska the previous week.
During a phone interview with Fox News, Trump asserted he had successfully concluded “seven wars” over his political tenure, though he characterized the dispute between Russia and Ukraine as the most challenging to date.
Trump, who aims to facilitate a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, conveyed his expectation that the Ukrainian leader “will do what he has to do,” further stating that “He has to show some flexibility.”
Trump had previously indicated that a three-way meeting involving Putin and Zelensky might occur soon, remarking that “there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.”
Trump had a meeting with Putin on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, marking their initial in-person encounter since 2019, during the American president’s first term. He characterized the discussions as “warm,” whereas Putin referred to them as “frank” and “substantive.”
On Monday, he subsequently telephoned the Russian president, informing him about the Washington discussions. As per Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, the conversation extended for 40 minutes, with both parties indicating a willingness to persist in resolving discussions with Zelensky.
Moscow asserts that any enduring resolution necessitates addressing the fundamental origins of the conflict, accommodating Russia’s security apprehensions, and acknowledging present territorial circumstances, which encompass the status of Crimea and the four former Ukrainian regions that opted to become part of Russia in 2022.