Trump says potential Putin-Zelensky meeting may also involve European leaders

Washington, Aug 15 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said that European leaders may also be part of meeting he hopes to broker between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky aimed at halting the war

"The more important meeting will be the second meeting that we're having," Trump said on Thursday in the Oval Office ahead of his Friday sit-down with Putin in Alaska.

"We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelensky, myself, and maybe we'll bring some of the European leaders along, maybe not."

Trump added that he believes Putin and Zelensky are ready to make peace after more than two years of fighting, though he lamented that the war in Ukraine has proved more difficult to resolve than he first expected.

"We'll see if they can get along," Trump said.

"I thought the easiest one would be this one. It's actually the most difficult."

"We're going to see what happens," Trump said of his summit with Putin in Alaska on Friday.

"And, I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. We'll see if they can get along and if they can, it'll be great."

Trump also managed expectations for Friday's meeting, saying the more important development will be getting Putin and Zelensky together for talks.

US and Russian officials will converge on the state of Alaska ahead of a highly anticipated Friday meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin.

The pair will meet for the first time in six years, as Trump tries to enact a key campaign pledge to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

The US President, who has portrayed himself as a global peacemaker, hopes to leverage his personal relationship with Putin to achieve a ceasefire breakthrough where others have failed.

On Thursday, he assessed there was a "25 per cent chance" the meeting would not be successful.

Zelensky has been excluded from the talks, and warned that any resolutions made in his absence will be meaningless.

Friday's meeting between the two leaders will take place entirely on a nearby US military base -- a reflection of security concerns and the relative brevity of the planned sit-down, currently scheduled to last just a few hours.

The summit comes exactly one week after Trump's deadline for Russia to reach a ceasefire or face tough new sanctions.

It was always highly unlikely that Kyiv and Moscow -- who have been locked in a bloody war since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 -- would reach an agreement to end hostilities before that deadline.

Europe finds itself in the unenviable position of being caught between the two sides and excluded from Friday's discussion.

During their last-minute call with Trump on Wednesday, European leaders emerged tentatively optimistic that once in Alaska the US President would fight their corner.

Like Ukraine itself, they have endured several turbulent months, during which Trump had a memorable White House bust-up with Zelensky and later temporarily paused military supplies for Kyiv - a markedly different stance to his predecessor Joe Biden.

Ukraine has been sidelined ahead of Friday, too.

Despite protests by the Ukrainian leader that any agreement struck by Trump and Putin without input from Kyiv would amount to "dead decisions", it became increasingly clear as the week progressed that the US-Russia meeting would remain a bilateral only.

While he was careful to keep Trump onside, Zelensky felt he had to intervene after the US President's throwaway comments about the need to see "some swapping, changes in land" between Russia and Ukraine.

"We will not withdraw from the Donbas. We cannot do that," the Ukrainian President said, with a hint of exasperation, as speculation over potential territorial concessions reached a height on Tuesday.

"Everyone forgets the first part: our territories are illegally occupied. For the Russians, the Donbas is a bridgehead for a future new offensive," he said, arguing that he would "pave the way" for further conflict on its soil if he gave up the region.

Like many of his compatriots, Zelensky is convinced that Putin wants to destroy Ukraine's sovereignty and people, and believes any concession to Russia would result in renewed and perhaps fatal aggression in the near future.

That is why he has consistently pushed to be invited into the room with Trump and Putin.

While this will not be the case during Friday's summit, the US President has pledged to update Zelensky soon afterwards -- and has indicated he is angling for a "quick" three-way meeting in the near future.

What Putin would have to gain from such a meeting is unclear.

The Kremlin has always said Putin and Zelensky have no reason to meet until much further down the negotiating line.

--IANS

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