Trump says he will meet with Zelenskyy after

President Donald Trump mentioned he’ll meet with Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the White Home on Monday afternoon to debate an settlement “which might finish the conflict” between Russia and Ukraine. 

The Truth Social post happened half a day after Mr. Trump met with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Mr. Trump mentioned the assembly with Putin “went very properly.” He additionally mentioned the assembly was adopted by a “late evening cellphone name” with Zelenskyy and different European leaders, together with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO. The decision befell round 2:40 a.m. ET.

“It was decided by all that one of the best ways to finish the horrific conflict between Russia and Ukraine is to go on to a Peace Settlement, which might finish the conflict, and never a mere Ceasefire Settlement, which regularly occasions don’t maintain up,” Mr. Trump mentioned. 

Mr. Trump didn’t share any particulars of the settlement. He mentioned Zelenskyy would be part of him within the Oval Workplace on Monday afternoon to debate the proposal. Zelenskyy has beforehand supported a ceasefire settlement to satisfy and focus on a peace settlement, however Moscow has rejected the concept. He has additionally criticized any talks that happen with out Ukraine. 

“If all of it works out, we are going to then schedule a gathering with President Putin,” Mr. Trump mentioned. “Doubtlessly, hundreds of thousands of individuals’s lives will likely be saved.” 

Zelenskyy beforehand joined Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance within the Oval Workplace in March, however the gathering rapidly descended into insults and chaos. 

Mr. Trump’s assembly with Putin in Anchorage on Friday ended with out a ceasefire or peace deal. In brief remarks after the leaders’ practically three-hour assembly, Putin alluded to “unspecified agreements,” however no additional particulars got. Mr. Trump mentioned the assembly had been “extraordinarily productive.” Neither chief talked about an finish to the preventing in Ukraine. 

The summit, which included a crimson carpet and navy flyover, ended early with out a deliberate luncheon between a broader group of officers. Mr. Trump returned to Washington, D.C. in a single day. 

In a taped dialog with Fox News’ Sean Hannity earlier than his departure from Alaska, Mr. Trump mentioned he believes Putin desires the conflict to finish and that the nations are near a deal, and added that it is “actually as much as President Zelenskyy to get it completed.” He didn’t specify what an settlement may appear to be. 

Zelenskyy has mentioned prior to now that he won’t ever conform to any formal Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory or abandon the nation’s bid for NATO membership. In the meantime, Putin has been unwavering in his demand to maintain all Ukrainian territory that his forces occupy and stop Ukraine from becoming a member of NATO, with the long-term aim of returning it to Moscow’s sphere of affect. 

Mr. Trump has referred to as ending the conflict in Ukraine and Russia a prime precedence for his administration. He beforehand mentioned he would finish the battle inside 24 hours of taking workplace in January. He has criticized each Putin and Zelenskyy for failing to finish the battle. In latest months, he has appeared to turn into annoyed with Putin, giving several ultimatums and criticizing the Russian chief for the violence in opposition to civilians in Ukraine amid ongoing conversations with the U.S. 

“I all the time dangle up, [and] say, ‘Properly, that was a pleasant cellphone name,'” Mr. Trump mentioned in July. “After which missiles are launched into Kyiv or another metropolis, and I say, ‘That is unusual.’ And after that occurs three or 4 occasions, you say, the discuss does not imply something.”

Mr. Trump mentioned Friday that he wouldn’t enact financial sanctions he had threatened against Russia if an settlement wasn’t reached by early August. He mentioned he “might have to consider” enacting the sanctions “in two weeks or three weeks or one thing.”  

There have been strikes between the 2 nations in a single day. Russia’s Protection Ministry mentioned its air defenses shot down 29 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the ocean of Azov, the Related Press reported. Ukraine’s air pressure mentioned one ballistic missile and 85 Shahed drones have been fired at elements of Sumy, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Chernihiv, in line with the AP. Sixty-one of the drones have been shot down, the AP reported. 

A Ukrainian soldier in Sumy instructed CBS Saturday Morning that “issues get much more terrifying on the entrance line” when there are peace talks.

“They try to seize extra territory,” the soldier mentioned.