The Kremlin announced on Thursday, August 7 that a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump was scheduled “in the next few days”, while dismissing a three summit at the moment with the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who insists on negotiating directly with the Russian president.
Vladimir Putin estimated that the “conditions” were not fulfilled for a tête-à-tête with Volodymyr Zelensky. Moscow had previously indicated that such an encounter only made sense in the final phase of the peace negotiations.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, also mentioned a possible “very soon” meeting with his counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, which would be the first since his return to the White House in January.
“A bilateral summit in the next few days”
Donald Trump had resumed contact with Vladimir Putin hoping to quickly finish the Russian offensive in Ukraine launched in 2022, but has been increasingly frustrated in recent weeks. He launched an ultimatum to Russia that expires on Friday, calling him to find an agreement with Ukraine under a penalty of severe sanctions.
“A bilateral summit in the next few days has been completed to the American party’s suggestion, the Kremlin Iuri Ochakov’s diplomatic advisor announced on Thursday.
According to him, this meeting could be held “next week” and Vladimir Putin said that the United Arab Emirates were one of the places planned to welcome him. “We have many friends who are ready to help us organize this type of event. One of them is the president of the United Arab Emirates,” said Vladimir Putin along with President Emirati, Mohammed Ben Zayed, whom he received at the Kremlin.
A “clear priority” for Ukraine
Iuri Ochakov, on the other hand, indicated that Moscow does not foresee for the meeting time three times between Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, a format that Washington proposed. And with respect to a Putin-Zelensky summit, the Russian leader said that “having nothing against” whenever “certain conditions” are met. “Now, unfortunately, we are still far from these conditions,” he said.
Volodymyr Zelensky had insisted on Thursday morning to organize such a meeting, qualifying it as a “clear priority” for Ukraine.
This sudden diplomatic acceleration occurs after the visit to Moscow on Wednesday of the special emissary of the US president, Steve Witkoff, who spoke with Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian president on his part held on Wednesday night by phone with Donald Trump, a conversation in which several European leaders also participated.
Volodymyr Zelensky insisted that Europeans were included in the peace negotiations about Ukraine, of which so far they have remained away despite the attempts of Paris, Berlin and London to influence them. “Therefore, Europe must participate in the process,” Vlodymyr Zelensky said Thursday.
However, German Ukrainian leader and chancellor Friedrich Merz “rented” during a telephone conversation “Donald Trump’s mediation efforts, according to Berlin. Volodymyr Zelensky also said he had informed French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday of the last developments during a phone call. “We coordinate our positions and we also believe that Europe will adopt a common position,” he said.
One last meeting in 2019
The last meat meeting between the American leader and Vladimir Putin took place in 2019 apart from a G20 summit in Japan, but it was above all its July 2018 summit in Helsinki who remained in memories. This rebirth of diplomatic activity is produced on the eve of the expiration of an ultimatum from the United States to Russia, ordered the end of the conflict. In the immediate future, it is not clear if this ultimatum is still current.
The countries that trade with Russia are attacked, such as India and China. Donald Trump has already announced Thursday to take 50% instead of 25% customs to imports from India, due to Russian Indian purchases. Despite US diplomatic efforts, there are no indications that Russia has abandoned its conditions to end its assault.
She states that Ukraine gives her four partially occupied regions (those of Donetsk, Lougansk, Zaporijjia and Kherson), in addition to Crimea Annexas in 2014, and that renounces the deliveries of Western weapons and any membership in NATO. Unacceptable conditions for Kyiv.
Moscow has repeatedly said that they wanted to discuss more widely with Washington from the security architecture in Europe, and in particular the expansion of NATO at Russian borders.
Source: BFM TV
