WASHINGTON, Aug 20: The Kremlin has reportedly downplayed the importance of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, amid US President Donald Trump’s bid to put both leaders at the negotiating table.
Though he praised the summit in Anchorage, Trump cautioned that Putin may not be serious about ending the conflict, reports BBC.
During his Monday meeting with Zelensky and European leaders, Trump said that the conflict was “a tough one” to solve, warning that it was possible that the Russian president was not interested in ending hostilities.
“We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks,” he said on Tuesday. “It’s possible that he doesn’t want to make a deal.”
This comes as the US President has shifted his position, pushing for a face to face bilateral meeting between Kyiv and Moscow first, instead of a potential trilateral meeting, stating that it would be better.
Trump added that he would attend a meeting with them “if necessary”, but wanted to “see what happens”.
“I had a very successful meeting with President Putin. I had a very successful meeting with President Zelensky. And now I thought it would be better if they met without me, just to see, I want to see what goes on,” Trump said on Mark Levin’s radio show on Tuesday, reports RT.
“You know, they had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship. And now we’ll see how they do and if necessary, and it probably would be, but if necessary, I’ll go and I’ll probably be able to get (the deal) closed,” he added.
Zelensky told reporters on Monday that he is ready for a potential meeting with Putin.
While the Kremlin has not commented on the latest proposal, Putin said earlier this year that he is ready to meet Zelensky during the “final stage” of negotiations.
Putin’s key aide, Yury Ushakov, added on Tuesday that Moscow supports continuing “direct negotiations between the delegations from Russia and Ukraine.” (UNI)
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