Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed a tripartite meeting involving Russian President Vladimir Putin with President Donald Trump during a call on Wednesday. Zelenskyy urged Putin to “be brave” and accept the meeting, which could take place as early as next week.
Speaking on the X platform, Zelenskyy stated: “Yesterday, various potential formats for leader-level meetings to bring peace were also discussed – two bilateral and one tripartite. Ukraine is not afraid of meeting and expects a similar brave approach from the Russian side. It’s time for us to end the war.”
These comments come after months of efforts by the Trump administration to bring Putin to the negotiating table with Zelenskyy, something the Kremlin has so far refused. However, Russian media reported on Thursday that Putin is open to the idea, but stated that “conditions must be created for negotiations to take place.”
According to Russian state news agency RIA, these “conditions” are far from being met. Trump’s foreign policy advisor stated on Thursday that the issue of the tripartite meeting was “mentioned” but “not discussed” during Putin’s meetings with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and then with Trump.
“Regarding the tripartite meeting option, which for some reason was discussed yesterday in Washington, this option was simply mentioned by the US side during the meeting at the Kremlin. But this option was not discussed in detail,” said Kremlin Foreign Policy Advisor Yuri Ushakov. “The Russian side completely ignored this option without comment.”
He added: “We propose to first focus on preparing for a bilateral meeting with Mr. Trump, and we believe it is important that this meeting be successful and effective.”
According to Fox News, Zelenskyy also said he had discussions with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday to ensure European interests were also prioritized in any US-Russia-Ukraine discussions. “We are coordinating our positions, and we also recognize the need for a common European stance on security issues that are important for Europe,” Zelenskyy said. “Much depends – both currently and in the long term – on the prudence and effectiveness of every step taken by Europe and the United States.”
