Donald Trump had a 90-minute phone call with Vladimir Putin and later announced to the media he will meet the Russian leader in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks
Donald Trump will meet Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia to negotiate peace in Ukraine – but Volodymyr Zelensky isn’t invited.
The US President is set to sit down with Mr Putin, 72, in the Middle East nation as he “knows the crown prince,” but did not commit to visiting Ukraine itself.
And Mr Trump, 78, blamed his predecessor, President Joe Biden, for not ending the war sooner. He again aimed fire at the Democrat, saying Mr Biden should have acted sooner during the conflict.
Yet the world leader, now in his second term as US President, suggested Mr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart, won’t be present at the negotiations for peace in his country. Mr Trump said: “We expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia. The first time, we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia, see if we get something done. We know the crown prince, I think it would be a very good place to meet.”
The Republican said he had a 90-minute telephone conversation with Mr Putin, during which the pair discussed the conflict in Ukraine. They also talked about subsequent meetings, none of which are thought to be scheduled in the nation itself.
Mr Trump has met the Russian leader before, in Helsinki, Finland in July 2018, during Mr Trump’s first term. Mr Zelensky believes their bond and power will be crucial to ending the tensions.
“We believe that America’s strength is sufficient to pressure Russia and Putin into peace,” the Ukraine President, 47, said in a video message posted after his own phone conversation with Mr Trump.
He continued: “We are doing our best to bring peace closer. I thank all those who are helping.” His comments come after allegations North Korean soldiers are “sitting duck” as they have “no idea why they are in Ukraine or who they are fighting”.
Previously, in a post shared to Mr Trump’s social media platform TruthSocial, the Republican president said: “We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now.”