United States President Donald Trump has stated that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is possible, but "very difficult" to achieve, as according to him, "they hate each other."
Speaking to reporters on Sunday during a visit to the memorial for slain activist Charlie Kirk, Trump said he would be willing to “intervene” to bring the two leaders closer together and that he could speak to each of them separately. “We’re going to get it done one way or another. So I’m going to have to get involved,” the US president said. He also recalled that last month he had met with Putin at a summit in Alaska, after which he promised to pave the way for a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Trump stressed that tensions between the two countries run very deep. “The hatred between Putin and Zelensky is unimaginable,” he said, adding that he thought the conflict in Ukraine would be “easy to resolve,” but that in reality it has proven to be more complicated. The US president also claimed that during his term he had “stopped seven wars.”
On the other hand, while no imminent meeting between Putin and Zelensky has been confirmed, Trump hinted that talks could take place “relatively soon,” without giving details on the format or possible location. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously stated that he is “ready in principle” to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, suggesting that Zelensky could travel to Moscow for negotiations. However, Kiev has rejected this idea, stressing that it will not accept “deliberately unacceptable proposals.” Putin has also underlined that reaching agreements on key issues between the two countries would be “practically impossible,” citing not only political will, but also “legal and technical difficulties” related to territorial disputes.
Thus, while the prospect of a meeting between the two leaders remains uncertain, Trump's role as mediator has once again been placed in the international spotlight.
