Will meet Trump on Aug 18: Ukraine Prez Zelensky reaffirms will to work to achieve peace

New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday reaffirmed that Ukraine remains committed to working with maximum effort to achieve peace. He also announced that he will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on Monday (August 18) to discuss in detail the prospects of ending the war and the ongoing violence.

This development comes after President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded a high stakes meeting in Anchorage, Alaska.

While the talks were described as "making progress", no concrete deal was reached. The meeting, held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, marked the first visit of a Russian head of state to the United States in nearly a decade and the first face-to-face dialogue between American and Russian leaders since 2021.

President Zelensky took to social media platform 'X' to share details of his recent communication with President Trump.

“We had a long and substantive conversation with POTUS. We started with one-on-one talks before inviting European leaders to join us. This call lasted for more than an hour and a half, including about an hour of our bilateral conversation with President Trump. Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace. President Trump informed me about his meeting with the Russian leader and the main points of their discussion. It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation,” Zelensky wrote.

He further expressed support for President Trump’s proposal of holding trilateral talks.

“We support President Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the USA, and Russia. Ukraine emphasises that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this,” he added.

President Zelensky also confirmed his upcoming meeting with President Trump in Washington.

“On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, DC, to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war. I am grateful for the invitation. It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America. We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. We continue to coordinate our positions with all partners. I thank everyone who is helping,” he said.

Meanwhile, the White House confirmed that President Trump spoke to President Zelensky following his summit with President Putin in Alaska.

President Trump was also in contact with NATO leaders on Saturday. Despite the high-profile engagement with Putin, Trump secured no breakthrough to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, even after extending a ceremonial welcome to the Russian leader.

Trump told reporters that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” after Putin claimed the two leaders had reached an “understanding” on Ukraine. The Russian president also warned European nations not to “torpedo the nascent progress.”

Putin reiterated Moscow’s long-standing position, stating that Russia is “sincerely interested in putting an end” to the conflict. However, he insisted that for a resolution to be reached, “all the root causes of the crisis must be eliminated.”

He added that he agreed with Trump on the importance of ensuring Ukraine’s security and said Moscow was “ready to work on this,” though he did not provide details.

Earlier, on August 15, Zelensky had voiced hope that the Alaska meeting between Trump and Putin could open the door to three-way talks.

“The key thing is that this meeting should open up a real path towards a just peace and a substantive discussion between leaders in a trilateral format – Ukraine, the United States, and the Russian side,” Zelensky had said on X.

--IANS

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