Donald Trump once said he would take part in any high-stakes peace summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. But now, he seems to be walking back on that idea.
Speaking in Washington, Trump suggested he might not attend a possible trilateral summit, saying, “We’re going to see if Putin and Zelensky are going to be working together. That’s a little bit like oil and vinegar—they don’t get along too well for obvious reasons. We’ll also see if I have to be there. I would rather not. I would rather they have a meeting and see how they can do—but in the meantime, they continue to fight and they continue to kill people, which is stupid, because they are losing 7,000 people on average a week.”
Trump also claimed, “I’ve stopped seven wars. This one I would’ve thought would be in the middle of the pack in terms of difficulty—but it’s turning out to be the most difficult.”
Meanwhile, Russian officials have been signaling openness to talks. Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, told reporters that Putin was “ready” to meet Zelensky, though previous attempts have not materialized. Lavrov emphasized that such a meeting would need to be well-prepared, with experts and ministers laying the groundwork before leaders sit down together.
On the U.S. side, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently called the situation “an opportunity for peace,” crediting Trump’s efforts. She explained that Trump had spoken to Putin by phone, and the two agreed on the next step: a direct meeting between Putin and Zelensky, followed—if needed—by a three-way discussion including Trump.
According to Leavitt, Trump has pushed for direct diplomacy from the beginning, which is why he supports the idea of the two leaders meeting face-to-face.
It remains to be seen whether these talks will actually take place, or if they’ll fall apart as previous attempts have.
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