Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday reaffirmed that his country is committed to seeking peace with all possible efforts and said that he will meet US President Donald Trump on Monday, August 18, in Washington, DC, to talk about the possibility of ending the war and current violence.
This comes after the dramatic meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska.
While the negotiations were termed as "moving forward," no solid deal was finalized. The meeting, conducted at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, was the first ever visit of a Russian leader in the United States of America in almost a decade and the first face-to-face conversation between American and Russian leaders since 2021.
Zelensky provided information about his recent call with Trump on the microblogging platform X.
We had a lengthy and substantial discussion with POTUS. We began with our one-on-one discussions prior to extending an invitation to European leaders to join us. Our call extended for over an hour and a half, with some approximately an hour of our bilateral discussion with President Trump. Ukraine reiterates its willingness to engage with utmost effort to bring about peace.". President Trump told me about his meeting with the Russian president and the key issues discussed by them. It is significant that America's power influences the course of events," Zelensky wrote.
He also welcomed Trump's proposal of holding trilateral talks.
We welcome President Trump's initiative of a trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the USA, and Russia. Ukraine stresses that strategic issues can be addressed at the leadership level, and a trilateral framework fits the purpose," Zelensky said.
The President of Ukraine confirmed his future meeting with Trump in Washington.
I will be meeting President Trump on Monday in Washington, DC, to go through all of the nuances of halting the bloodshed and the war. I appreciate the invite. It is crucial that the Europeans participate at every level to have credible security guarantees alongside America. We also touched upon good news from the American side about joining in ensuring security guarantees for Ukraine.". We are still coordinating our positions with all the partners. I thank all the people who are assisting," he added.
White House confirmed that Trump called Zelensky after his summit in Alaska with Putin and also was in contact with NATO leaders on Saturday. Amidst the high-profile interaction, Trump achieved no breakthrough to put an end to Russia's war against Ukraine.
There's no deal until there's a deal," Trump said to journalists following Putin announcing the two leaders had agreed an "understanding" on Ukraine. Putin urged European countries not to "torpedo the nascent progress.
Repeating Moscow's historic stance, Putin asserted Russia is "sincerely interested in ending" the war but emphasized that "all the causes of the crisis's roots must be uprooted" for a resolution. He also added that he and Trump were united on the need to provide security guarantees to Ukraine and that Russia is "prepared to work on this," although no details were offered.
Earlier, on August 15, Zelensky had also hoped that the Alaska meeting would set the stage for trilateral negotiations.
"The main thing is that this meeting should open up a genuine path to a just peace and a meaningful dialogue between leaders in a trilateral format – Ukraine, the United States, and the Russian side," he stated on X.
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