Donald Trump to ‘meet Putin in person’ as soon as next week before Zelensky ‘joins for three-way summit’
President Donald Trump plans to meet face to face with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky together “as early as next week.”
White House sources said the President plans to meet with the Russian President then his Ukranian counterpart shortly after, reports the New York Times.
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Trump, who promised to end Russia’s war in Ukraine on “day one” during his presidential campaign, has held several phone calls with Putin and has met with Zelensky since returning to the White House in January.
However, in recent weeks, he has become increasingly frustrated with the Kremlin over a lack of progress towards ending the three-year conflict.
The Ukrainian President said Trump had reiterated Kyiv’s support for a just peace and its continued determination to defend itself.
Zelensky said: “Ukraine will definitely defend its independence. We all need a lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it itself started.”
REUTERS
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The Ukrainian President spoke with Trump this afternoon
The White House said that no location had been proposed for any potential summit between the three leaders.
Meanwhile, Trump took a key step toward measures against Putin when he imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India, citing New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil.
No similar order was signed for China, which also imports Russian oil. The new measure raises tariffs on some Indian goods to as high as 50 per cent, among the steepest faced by any US trading partner.
The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal.
