President-elect Donald Trump said late Thursday that a meeting is being arranged with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a summit that would be eyed anxiously by Ukraine and its other Western allies.
“President Putin wants to meet” and “we are setting it up,” Trump told a news briefing at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. “We have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess.”
Trump has previously suggested he would seek to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, now approaching the three-year mark, within 24 hours of assuming office.
Russia says it is open to to dialogue and diplomacy — although critics say that in reality its proposals amount to little more than a Ukrainian surrender.
“President Putin has repeatedly stated his openness to contacts with international leaders, including the U.S. president, including with Donald Trump,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. “No conditions are required for this, what is required is a mutual desire and political will to conduct a dialogue.”
Peskov said Trump’s overtures were “welcome” but added there were “no specifics” on dates. “After Mr. Trump assumes office, there will be some developments.”
Ukraine knows that while many inside the country are alarmed at Trump’s stance, its relationship with the White House is nonetheless essential in its territorial future and sovereignty.
It said Friday it was “waiting for a meeting between our presidents because for us the main thing is to work together with America,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi told reporters in Kyiv. It said it was “preparing for contacts at the highest and high levels immediately after the inauguration.”
