Donald Trump has said he would consider attending a potential meeting this week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss a peace deal
Donald Trump may join a potential meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky this week to discuss a peace deal.
The US President, who began a four-day tour through the Persian Gulf today, said he may add a stop and attend the proposed direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday.
“I was thinking about actually flying over there,” Trump said. “There’s a possibility of it, I guess.” He added he would do so “if I thought it would be helpful.” Trump’s presence at the meeting would raise the stakes, as Kyiv aims to realign a hostile relationship with the US president while an emboldened Putin defies European leaders’ calls for a cease-fire.
“Of course, all of us in Ukraine would like President Trump to be there with us – at this meeting in Turkey,” Zelensky said in response. “This is the right idea.”
On Sunday, Putin proposed direct talks as he rebuffed pressure from European leaders to accept an unconditional 30-day cease-fire. In an unusual late-night statement, the Russian leader said he was “prepared for serious negotiations with Ukraine” and “without any preconditions.” The Kremlin has not yet responded to Trump’s mention of the meeting.
The development came as the US leader was warmly welcomed to the Middle East by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the man US intelligence believes ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The US president was all smiles as he landed in Saudi Arabia for talks billed as efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme, end the war in Gaza, hold down oil prices and more. Prince Mohammed has been suspected of being responsible for the brutal 2018 murder of Khashoggi, who was ambushed at the Saudi consulate in Turkey.
The US-based writer was dismembered and disposed of in some way that was never publicly revealed. America later provided the Crown Prince with immunity from a lawsuit filed by Khashoggi’s fiancée.
Today, while inside the royal court, Trump called the prince a friend and said the pair had developed a good relationship. “I really believe we like each other a lot,” the president said.
Trump arrived in the Middle East at the start of a four-day visit with several major American business executives in tow.
They included Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. Musk is also leading the Department of Government Efficiency, a controversial second-term effort to address waste, fraud, and abuse in the US government.
His attendance in the Middle East has been viewed with raised eyebrows, with many believing the trip is designed to further America’s billionaires rather than address ongoing global issues.
Trump failed to quash the scepticism.
Today, he encouraged Saudi Arabia to increase its investment in the States beyond the $600 billion over four years already pledged by Crown Prince Mohammed.
While sitting with the Saudi royal, Trump asked for that number to be raised to $1 trillion, despite economists saying the kingdom does not have such financial resources available.
“We have the biggest business leaders in the world here,” Trump said. “They’re going to walk away with a lot of cheques.”