United States President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) said he would be open to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the Ukraine war.
Speaking to reporters at the White House before departing for Kansas, Trump said he would do “anything he can” to end the conflict, while adding that it was “time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.”
“I would do it — not so much for Ukraine, because Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine,” Trump told reporters while referring to the meeting. “Anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody’s there or not, whatever I could do to end the war,” he added.
The remarks come amid tensions between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with the former accusing the latter for not wanting to end the war with Russia. Meanwhile, Moscow has recently received several concessions from the US in the form of a diesel deal and a waiver on some sanctions on Russian energy.
Also Read | Trump calls Zelensky ‘not a good guy’, says Ukraine President harder to deal with than Putin
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | Trump calls Zelensky ‘not a good guy’, says Ukraine President harder to deal with than Putin
{{/usCountry}}According to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, the proposal for a trilateral summit with Trump and Xi was made by Putin to discuss the conflict with Ukraine.
‘Ukraine could have had this thing settled a long time ago’: Trump
Trump confirmed that Putin and Xi “wanted to have” a meeting with him which would focus on Ukraine as well as denuclearisation. He said, “And they do want to have a meeting. That’s my suggestion, because I’m going to be over in China in November, on the denuclearisation.”
Responding to the Ukrainian President's remark that the Trump administration was on “the wrong side of history”, the US President said, “Zelensky doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Criticising Zelensky's handling of the war, Trump said Ukraine “should have had this war settled a long time ago", Fox News reported.
“If he would have listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago, and he’d have a million people living from his side,” the US President said. He further added, “Maybe it’s time for Zelensky to get somebody else to negotiate.”
Also Read | 'We're done': Ukraine's Zelensky says won't follow Trump's demand of no strike on Russian refineries
Putin's proposal for a trilateral meet with Trump, Xi
Russian President Putin recently proposed a trilateral summit with Trump and Xi to discuss an end to the conflict with Ukraine, which has dragged on for over four years now.
The plan represents an effort by Putin to capitalise on the warming ties with the US President, the Wall Street Journal reported. The idea was floated on October 9 over a phone call with Trump, the report cited a former Russian intelligence officer who was briefed on the matter as saying. The phone call had also led to a deal US to purchase Russian diesel fuel and facilitate its sale on the global market.