“This is really a feel-out meeting a little bit,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“We’re going to see what he has in mind and if it’s a fair deal, I’ll reveal it to the European Union leaders and to Nato leaders and also to President Zelenskyy,” Trump said.
“I may say - lots of luck, keep fighting. Or I may say, we can make a deal.”
Trump insists on swaps
Zelenskyy has ruled out ceding territory seized by force. Trump - who publicly berated Zelenskyy at a White House meeting in February - said he was a “little bothered” by Zelensky’s stance and insisted land swaps would need to take place.
“There’ll be some swapping, there’ll be some changes in land,” he said.
But Trump said he would also tell Putin that “you’ve got to end this war”.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has invited the French, British and other European leaders and the EU and Nato chiefs to virtual talks.
Merz’s office said today that the video conference in various rounds of talks would discuss “further options to exert pressure on Russia” and “preparation of possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security”.
EU foreign ministers met in Brussels today with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and also examined imposing a 19th package of sanctions on Russia since the invasion.
Until Russia agrees to a “full and unconditional ceasefire, we should not even discuss any concessions”, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said after the talks.
“It has never worked in the past with Russia, and will not work with Putin today.”
Zelenskyy again warned against capitulating to Putin’s demands.
“Russia refuses to stop the killings, and therefore must not receive any rewards or benefits. And this is not just a moral position - it is a rational one,” Zelenskyy wrote in a statement published on social media.
“Concessions do not persuade a killer,” he added.
Question on Zelensky role
Asked yesterday on CNN if Zelenskyy could be present at the Alaska summit, US Ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker responded, “Yes, I certainly think it’s possible”.
Trump, asked today about inviting Zelenskyy to Alaska, suggested the Ukrainian leader would be involved in talks at a future date.
“I’ll be there if they need, but I want to have a meeting set up between the two leaders,” he said.
It remains unclear if Putin would accept a meeting with Zelenskyy, who has publicly dared him to negotiate.
As a prerequisite to a peace settlement, the Kremlin has demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of several regions claimed by Moscow and embrace sweeping demands - including committing to being a neutral state excluded from Nato and shunning US and European military support.
Both sides have stepped up aerial assaults, with Ukraine claiming to have hit a facility that produces missile components in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region. Local authorities said one person died in the attack and two were wounded.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had captured the village of Fedorivka, in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
-Agence France-Presse
