Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a meeting planned for the end of the week between Ukrainian and American representatives. The main goal of the negotiations is to discuss the prospects for future talks between Ukraine and Russia.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Preparation for Possible Meeting with the Russian Side
Zelensky emphasized that a series of meetings have already taken place and announced a new one with Keith Kellogg, the U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine. This dialogue will continue previous consultations and will facilitate preparations for a potential meeting with the Russian side. The president also clarified that American officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Special Envoy for Russia Steve Witkoff or their representatives may join the discussions.
Zelensky stressed that the week will be busy with work. The president noted that Ukraine will be working on creating a basic security guarantees plan, after which he expects to receive information from the U.S. regarding the Russian side’s readiness for the proposed negotiation configuration – initially in a bilateral format, and then in a trilateral format involving the U.S.
“We will have a basic plan regarding security guarantees…, and after that, I would like to understand from the American side whether the ‘Ruskies’ are ready and for which configuration, whether they are ready for the configuration proposed by the U.S. and supported by Ukraine: a bilateral meeting, and then a trilateral meeting,” the president noted.
Position of the USA and the Russian Federation
After talks with Zelensky and European leaders, U.S. President Donald Trump announced preparations for a leaders’ meeting between Ukraine and Russia. He also suggested the possibility of a trilateral summit involving the U.S. However, Trump later noted that he does not seek to personally participate in negotiations between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
For its part, the Kremlin has not yet confirmed plans for a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia. In Moscow, it was stated that they may consider raising the level of representation at the negotiations if deemed appropriate. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia does not reject any formats for peace negotiations to end the war against Ukraine, but stressed the need for meticulous preparation for contacts involving the heads of state.