Finance
In a phone call on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump reaffirmed their commitment to allowing Moscow and Kyiv delegations to continue direct discussions.
Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to the Russian president, confirmed the event and stated that the US president initiated the call.
During the talks, Trump told Putin about his meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of numerous European nations in Washington, Ushakov said.
Putin also thanked Trump during the call for the hospitality and arrangements at the Alaska Summit and for the advancements they made in achieving a peaceful settlement of the crisis in Ukraine.
The Russian Presidential aide said that, among other things, both Trump and Putin discussed the prospect of exploring opportunities for drawing higher-ranking officials from both Ukraine and Russia into the direct talks.
“It is quite telling that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to keep in touch with one another on the Ukrainian issue and other urgent international and bilateral matters. The President of Russia highlighted the importance of Donald Trump’s personal efforts and commitment to finding solutions for a lasting settlement in Ukraine. The conversation was quite frank and constructive,” Ushakov stated.
In the meantime, Trump said Monday that he is setting up a meeting between Zelensky and Putin in an attempt to put an end to the catastrophic conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of civilian and military lives, following discussions with the Ukrainian President and European leaders.
He called the Russian president after the meeting to explore holding a trilateral meeting with Zelensky, Putin, and Trump to discuss the peace negotiations.
“I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat (trilateral meeting), which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” he added.
Trump said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and US Vice President J.D. Vance are working with Russia and Ukraine to arrange the meetings.
Source: IANS
