'Zelenskyy also invited': Trump announces three-party Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Munich

US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Russia, Ukraine and the US would meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to discuss ways to end the war.

“Russia is going to be there with our people. Ukraine is also invited, by the way, not sure exactly who’s going to be there from any country - but high-level people from Russia, from Ukraine and from the United States,” POTUS said.

On the other hand, Russia—which is not due to appear at the annual summit in Germany—has not commented on Trump’s proposal yet, while a senior Ukrainian official has said that “talks with Russians in Munich” were “not expected.”

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Earlier this month, the US president talked with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the phone where he said that the latter “wants to see people stop dying”. After their supposed phone call, POTUS expressed optimism over the end of the war and said that the US was making progress with Moscow.

Asked whether he had had his conversation with Putin since he became president on January 20 or before, Trump said: “I’ve had it. Let’s just say I’ve had it…And I expect to have many more conversations. We have to get that war ended.”

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Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance and White House officials are expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich.

Trump had also floated the idea of holding a three-way meeting during the Munich Security Council, without mentioning any other details.

Zelenskyy had earlier expressed his annoyance and said that it was “not very pleasing” that Trump had spoken to Putin before him but emphasised that Ukraine would not accept any peace agreement between the US and Russia unless Kyiv was directly involved in the negotiations.

“We cannot accept it, as an independent country,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader said that Kyiv, along with European allies, “needed to be at the negotiating table too” amid fears that Trump might be growing closer to Putin which could lead to a separate US-Russia deal, calling the shots on Ukraine’s future.