Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he fully supports Donald Trump’s idea of “a full and unconditional ceasefire,” which he hopes would last “long enough to provide the foundation for diplomacy.”
Zelenskyy also reiterated that he will travel to Türkiye where he has issued an invitation for face-to-face peace talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy said he hopes Trump can attend too.
“All of us in Ukraine would appreciate it if President Trump could be there with us at this meeting in Türkiye. This is the right idea. We can change a lot.”
“I hope that the Russians will not evade the meeting,” he added, while awaiting an official answer from the Kremlin.
Vladimir Putin himself suggested “direct talks” with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday, but has not responded to Zelenskyy’s invitation.
Trump remains optimistic that the presidents of Ukraine and Russia will attend the talks in Istanbul and suggested the meeting could yield “a good result.”
“I think we may see a good result from Thursday’s meeting in Türkiye between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said during a press conference on Monday.
“I believe both leaders are going to be there,” he said, adding that he is also considering travelling to Türkiye but with “so many meetings” on his agenda he is not sure he will be able to attend.
Trump is due to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and from there will travel to Qatar before ending his three-day trip of the region in the United Arab Emirates on 15 May, when the meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin is supposed to take place.
On Monday, Trump claimed that he strongly advocated for the Istanbul meeting, calling it a critical opportunity to stop the war.
“Thursday’s meeting between Russia and Ukraine is very important. I strongly pushed for it to happen. I think good things can come from it. We have to stop the bloodshed — it’s horrible, a bloodbath,” he said.
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