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Putin, Zelensky ready for face-to-face peace talks
Russian and Ukrainian presidents have agreed to hold face-to-face peace summit after leaders of the United States, Ukraine and several European countries held a meeting in Washington to put an end to more than three years of war between the two neighboring countries.
According to three sources familiar with the issue, Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed holding the peace summit with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Moscow during a phone call with his American counterpart Donald Trump.
The discussion between and Putin came during high-stakes talks between Trump, Zelensky and several European leaders.
"Putin mentioned Moscow" during their call on Monday, one of the sources told AFP, adding that Zelensky had said "no" in response.
A diplomatic source close to the discussions said that European leaders had told Trump that Putin's proposal "did not seem like a good idea."
After the summit in the White House on Monday that included the German, French, Finnish, Italian and UK leaders, Trump said a next step to stopping the fighting now its fourth year would be a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leader has said repeatedly in recent weeks that he is prepared to sit down with Putin to end the war, which has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions.
"I confirmed – and all European leaders supported me – that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin," Zelensky said Monday.
Putin also told Trump during the call that he was open to the "idea" of direct talks with Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that any meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents would have to be prepared "very thoroughly."
Switzerland, meanwhile, had said earlier that it would grant Putin immunity if he came to the country for talks on peace in Ukraine, despite the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant.
Trump met with Putin last week in the northern US state of Alaska, ending a years-long Western policy of isolating Putin.
Zelensky has come under increasing pressure to cede territory to end the grinding war, as Russia makes a series of advances.
Ahead of the White House meeting, Trump had pushed Ukraine to give up Crimea and abandon its goal of joining NATO – both key demands made by Putin.
But Zelensky stressed he had been able to present a clearer picture of the battlelines to Trump, who he met in a one-on-one in the Oval Office.
"This was the best of our meetings," Zelensky said, according to a statement put out by his office. "I was able to show many things, even on the map, to all American colleagues regarding the situation on the battlefield."
Rather than concessions from Ukraine, the summit focused on arranging security guarantees in the event of a peace deal, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters afterwards.
Trump said the guarantees "would be provided by the various European Countries (in) coordination with the United States of America."