Trump says he is arranging meeting between Putin and Zelensky

New Delhi, Aug 19: US President Donald Trump said he is working to arrange a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after holding talks at the White House with Zelensky and several European leaders. According to CNN, Trump told reporters that he had spoken directly with Putin during the summit and discussed the possibility of a meeting. “We are trying to bring them together,” he said, adding that the talks were part of broader efforts to find a path to end the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky later confirmed that Russia had suggested a bilateral meeting with Ukraine, followed by a trilateral session including Trump. “I am ready for any format of talks with President Putin,” he said at a news conference. “We should meet unconditionally and think about how to end this war,” reports CNN.

European leaders said they had asked Trump to convey their position to Putin. Finnish President Alexander Stubb told CNN that the US president’s call to the Kremlin was a coordinated move. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz added that Putin had agreed in principle to meet Zelensky within the next two weeks, though the location has not been decided.

Meanwhile, Zelensky strongly condemned Russia’s latest missile strikes that killed at least ten people, saying Moscow was trying to “humiliate diplomatic efforts.” He stressed that Ukraine needed “reliable security guarantees.”

At the White House talks, Zelensky said discussions included a $90 billion package for American weapons purchases funded by Europe and plans for Ukraine to produce drones that could also be supplied to the US. He said these guarantees were still under negotiation but could be finalised within ten days. The Ukrainian leader also revealed that he and Trump spent time looking at a map in the Oval Office showing Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. “I argued about the percentages on the map because I know them very well,” Zelensky said, though he described the exchange as a “warm and meaningful conversation.”

According to the BBC, Trump told reporters that European countries would provide security guarantees for Ukraine with US coordination. He added that a ceasefire was “not needed” to start negotiations, a position that contrasts with French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Merz, who both urged for a ceasefire as a first step. The Kremlin said Trump’s call with Putin lasted around 40 minutes.