US to arrange Russia-Ukraine summit

Washington: United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to facilitate a face-to-face summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, marking a new effort to resolve the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The announcement came during a high-level meeting at the White House, where Trump hosted Zelenskyy alongside key European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The summit aims to address the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump revealed that he had “begun arrangements” for the summit after a phone conversation with Putin, and plans to hold a trilateral meeting with both leaders following their bilateral talks.

“Again, this was a very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

He also noted that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are actively coordinating with both Russian and Ukrainian officials to make the meeting happen.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte confirmed that Putin had agreed to the bilateral summit but did not provide details on the timing or location.

Zelenskyy described his discussion with Trump as a “very good conversation” and expressed readiness to meet Putin directly.

While Moscow has yet to officially confirm the summit, Russia’s state news agency TASS quoted presidential aide Yuri Ushakov as saying that Putin and Trump “spoke in favour of continuing direct talks” between the two countries’ delegations.

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The proposed summit would be the first direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy since the conflict began and comes as security guarantees for Ukraine remain a critical topic during ongoing diplomatic discussions.