Perhaps a first meeting between the two leaders at war for more than three years now. US vice-president JD Vance assured that the United States is working on «programmer» A meeting between Donald Trump and his Russian counterparts Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky.
“One of the most important blockages is that Vladimir Putin said that he never was busy with [Volodymyr] Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader, and the president [Trump] managed to change this ”, said JD Vance during an interview with the conservative channel Fox News, broadcast on Sunday, August 10. Henceforth, he added, the US administration is working on «programmer [le moment où] These three leaders could sit down and discuss the end of this conflict ” a Ukraine.
The leaders of the European Union and the powers of the Old Continent insisted that kyiv was involved on Sunday on the American-Russian negotiations, a few days before the summit on Friday August 15 between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska. There must be a question, according to the US head of state, of a possible agreement providing “Territorial exchanges” To put an end to the conflict which made dozens, even hundreds of thousands of people dead for more than three years in the two countries.
And Volodymyr Zelensky, who will not in principle participate in this summit, urged its European allies, notably France, Germany and the United Kingdom also excluded from talks, to define a common approach. A “Extraordinary meeting” In videoconference is also scheduled on Monday between foreign ministers from EU countries and their Ukrainian counterpart. In this regard, the Ukrainian president called on Monday not to give in to the requirements of Vladimir Putin: “Russia refuses to stop the massacres and must therefore not receive rewards or advantages. And it is not only a moral position, it is a rational position. The concessions do not persuade a killer. ”
The United States Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, has suggested on Sunday that the Ukrainian president could attend the summit. “Yes, I undoubtedly think it is possible”, replied the American diplomat on CNN. “”There certainly cannot be an agreement if all the parties involved have not subscribed to it. And, obviously, the top priority is to reach the end of the war ”, estimated Matthew Whitaker. But in the end, it will be for Donald Trump to decide, warned his ambassador to NATO. “If he believes that inviting Zelensky is the best scenario, then he will do it,” he assured while stressing that“No decision has been made”.
The European Union, for its part, brings together its leaders of diplomacy this Monday, August 11, in the presence of their Ukrainian counterpart Andriï Sybigua. The twenty-seven seek to weigh on the planned talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, fearing an agreement at the expense of Kyiv. Europeans multiply contacts and strive to make a common front behind Ukraine since the announcement of the summit in Alaska.
“President Trump is right to say that Russia must end his war against Ukraine. The United States has the power to force Russia to seriously negotiate ”, Hit in a statement the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Kaja Kallas. But, she insisted, “Any agreement between the United States and Russia must include Ukraine and the EU because it is a question of security for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe”.
This exchange will be added to a series of contacts which took place during the weekend, with in particular a meeting last Saturday in the United Kingdom between European national security advisers, American as well as in the presence of the US vice-president JD VANCE. The Ukrainian Head of State has met himself in the past three days with 13 European leaders, as well as with the presidents of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
And then, Kyiv “Work of course with the United States. It is not happening one day without us communicating on the means to achieve real peace. We understand that Russia intends to deceive America ”, warned Volodymyr Zelensky in his traditional evening message. Vladimir Putin for his part conversed with nine heads of state or government in three days including Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi and Inacio Lula da Silva.
Donald Trump, who had promised to settle the Ukrainian conflict in 24 hours on his return to the White House, had then started a spectacular rapprochement with the Russian president. But he recently showed growing frustration when Russia has intensified his bombardments from Ukraine in recent months. The announcement of the Alaska summit intervened on Friday, the same day of the expiration of an American ultimatum launched in the Kremlin to put an end to the worst armed conflict in Europe since the Second World War.
During the night of Saturday to Sunday the French, German, Italian, Polish, British and Finnish French leaders, and the president of the European Commission urged the American president to increase the «pression» on Russia. They considered that any negotiation should take place “In the context of a ceasefire or a reduction in hostilities” and informed that a diplomatic solution should include “Solid and credible safety guarantees” for Ukraine.
While the Russian army currently controls approximately 20 % of the Ukrainian territory, Moscow claims that Kyiv gives him four partially occupied regions (Donetsk, Lougansk, Zaporijia and Kherson), in addition to the Crimea annexed in 2014, and that it renounces Western arms deliveries and any membership in NATO. Unacceptable requirements to the Ukrainian government.
Update at 1:10 p.m. With Zelensky’s statements
