Trump willing to meet Zelensky, Putin if ‘necessary’ to advance peace talks

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday indicated that he was willing to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to advance peace talks between the warring countries.

US President Donald Trump stated that he is willing to meet Zelensky and Putin to advance peace talks(REUTERS)

After expressing disappointment with Putin a day before, Trump stated that while he did not like seeing rockets shot into Ukrainian cities, he was hesitant to impose sanctions on Russia to avoid creating issues with a potential deal, reported Reuters.

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Trump had indicated last week that he was considering additional sanctions on Russia, after they had failed to follow through on ceasefire negotiations and had launched a massive offensive against Ukraine.

“We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not, and if he is, we’ll respond a little differently,” Trump said. He added that he was disappointed due to the situation in Ukraine, and could not tell if Vladimir Putin wanted to end the war.

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The US President had taken to the social media platform TruthSocial a day before and said, “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!”

Russia proposes date, venue for peace talks with Ukraine

The head of Russia’s delegation for peace talks with Ukraine, Vladimir Medinsky, stated on Wednesday, that he had sent proposals to Ukraine with the dates and venues for their next round of peace talks.

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“Let me emphasise: right there, on the spot, we are ready to begin an essential, substantive discussion of each of the points of the package agreement on a possible ceasefire,” he said.

Medinsky said he expected a reply from Ukraine and that Russia’s delegation was ready to meet its Ukrainian counterparts face-to-face in the coming days.