Donald Trump dropped a “bombshell” at the conclusion of the Washington summit, paving the way for a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, as he raised expectations in a post stating that “preparations have begun for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky. Following this meeting, we will have a trilateral meeting, which will include the two Presidents and myself.”
While Moscow has not confirmed that such a high-level meeting will take place, what emerges from Moscow’s position (expressed by experienced advisor Yuri Ushakov) is simply that participation of “the highest possible level of officials” is being explored (unlike the Istanbul meetings). However, there is already intense speculation about when the two Presidents might meet, as Europe also seeks to sit at the negotiating table.
As Sky News recalls, Friedrich Merz stated that Trump agreed to hold a meeting between Putin and Zelensky within two weeks. For his part, Macron proposed yesterday in the American capital to hold a “quadrilateral” meeting following a trilateral meeting between the US, Russia and Ukraine, although it was not clear who the fourth participant would be. The French president returned to this topic in interviews after the 12-hour diplomatic marathon, stating that there is a “collective will” for it to be conducted in Europe and in a neutral country like Switzerland, specifically proposing Geneva. Indeed, the French president appears to adopt the view that all countries “whose security depends on the conflict” need to sit in the discussions, leaving an open “window” for Turkish presence.
Beyond that, Hungary should not be excluded from the options. A possible bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky could take place there, as Reuters reported earlier today, citing a senior US government official.
Meanwhile, diplomatic activity is at full momentum: Today there will be another video conference of the Alliance of the Willing (co-chaired by Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron), while at 14:00 a teleconference of European leaders will be held, convened by European Council President António Costa, aimed at briefing and evaluating yesterday’s meetings held in Washington, with the participation of Western leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president notably mentioned that details regarding security guarantees to be provided to Ukraine will be “finalized” within the next 10 days.
