 "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. AP")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a three-way meeting with US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The development comes at a time when Trump has repeatedly shown frustration with Putin over the rejection of ceasefire offers, dismissal of peace talks, and ramping up of deadly attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy had similarly proposed three-way talks in Turkey earlier this month when Ukraine and Russia held direct talks for the first time since 2022. However, Putin rejected the offer to join talks and sent a low-level delegation. Trump also did not join those talks.
Zelenskyy has said that he was ready for a trilateral meeting if Putin was not prepared to meet him one-on-one.
“If Putin is not comfortable with a bilateral meeting, or if everyone wants it to be a trilateral meeting, I don’t mind. I am ready for any format,” said Zelenskyy, according to AFP.
Zelenskyy also urged Trump to hit Russia with hard-hitting sanctions on its banking and energy sector.
“We are waiting for sanctions from the United States of America. Trump confirmed that if Russia does not stop, sanctions will be imposed. We discussed two main aspects with him — energy and the banking system. Will the US be able to impose sanctions on these two sectors? I would very much like that,” said Zelenskyy.
ALSO READ: Trump considering new sanctions on Russia, removing all limits on Ukraine’s weapons: Reports
In recent weeks, as Russia has launched hundreds of drones and missiles on a near-daily basis, Trump has increasingly shown frustration with Putin. He said on Sunday that Putin has “gone absolutely crazy” and he has no idea “what the hell” happened to him.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsTrump further said, “I’m not happy with what Putin is doing. He’s killing a lot of people, and I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin.”
Hours after these remarks, Russia launched the largest aerial attack on Ukraine that killed at least 12 and injured dozens.
Despite Trump’s rebukes and reports that he is considering imposing new sanctions and removing limits on Ukraine’s usage of Western weapons, Russia has shown no signs of standing down. Dmitry Medvedev, a close aide of Putin, has said that the buffer zone that Russia is working on would include the vast majority of Ukraine and leave just a tiny sliver of territory in the country’s far-west. Essentially, he said that the Russia intends to occupy nearly all of Ukraine.