Zelensky pushes for unconditional meeting with Putin

Washington, Aug 19 (IANS) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia proposed a bilateral meeting with Ukraine, followed by a trilateral meeting.

In a news conference following his meetings with US President Donald Trump at the White House, Zelensky said on Monday that he is ready for "any format" of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He said that he would participate in the following trilateral meeting, depending on how the first meeting goes.

Zelensky added that he does not know the details about the proposed bilateral meeting.

He said that he does not want to impose conditions on the meeting because Putin would follow with his own conditions.

"I believe unconditionally we should meet and think about the further development of this path to the end of the war," he said.

Putin told Trump on Monday that he is willing to meet Zelensky, a person familiar with the call said.

Putin told Trump, whom he met Friday in Alaska, of his readiness to meet Zelensky during a telephone call in a break from White House talks in Washington with European leaders, the person said on condition of anonymity.

Trump said on Monday that he had started arranging a two-way peace meeting between Ukraine's Zelensky and Russia's Putin -- to be followed by three-way talks involving himself.

"At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky," he said after hosting Zelensky and European leaders at the White House.

"After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself."

Ukrainian President Zelensky on Monday gave an upbeat asessment of talks with US counterpart Trump and said they discussed security guarantees.

"We had a very good conversation with President Trump, and it really was the best one -- or, sorry, maybe the best one will be in the future," Zelensky said at an expanded meeting with European leaders.

President zelensky and President Trump expressed hope that Monday's critical talks with Ukrainian and European leaders at the White House could lead to trilateral talks with Putin to bring an end to Russia's war on Ukraine.

Monday's meeting comes after Trump met with Putin and has said that the onus is now on Zelensky to agree to concessions that he said could end the war.

A group of European political leaders also meet with the US President after they were left out of Friday's summit, and they are looking to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow.

--IANS

int/khz