Alaska: Negotiations with the American delegation in the “narrow format” have concluded, the Kremlin said in a short statement, as reported by CNN. The bilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin lasted well over three hours, CNN reported.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with other officials, were also present. The fact that the two leaders had not moved on to their expanded bilateral luncheon after an hour and a half was also a sign that Trump, at least so far, did not feel compelled to “walk,” as he had earlier promised to do if the talks were going south, as per CNN.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not present for this ongoing meeting even as the two leaders discussed the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As per CNN, Trump had said that after the meeting, he will call Zelenskyy, as well as European leaders, after the summit ends to brief them on the results.
President Donald J. Trump and President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. 🇺🇸🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/WwYL3DsXLa
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He’s made it clear that his eventual goal is to get Putin and Zelensky in the same room to discuss how to end the war. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump had said that it could happen “almost immediately” if this meeting goes well, potentially even in Alaska. Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s “number one” demand of the Alaska summit is for Russia to agree to a ceasefire. Only a ceasefire can provide the basis for meaningful peace talks, Ukraine and its European allies said, as per CNN.
Following a call between Trump and European leaders on Wednesday, two European diplomats familiar with the matter told CNN that Trump suggested he would push for a ceasefire at today’s talks, which are currently underway.
If Russia agrees to a ceasefire, Ukraine’s attention could then turn to its next priority — a seat at the table for next meeting. Kyiv is hoping today’s talks are a prelude to a three-way summit between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and the US.
“Everything concerning Ukraine must be discussed exclusively with Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said after Wednesday’s call with Trump, as quoted by CNN. “We must prepare a trilateral format for talks.”
