Trump dampens expectations for possible Putin-Selensky meeting

Last week, in response to repeated questions from journalists, his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt had stated that Putin had agreed to a direct meeting with Zelensky in the coming weeks.

Trump now referred to the tensions between the two presidents. "There is a tremendous personal dislike between the two men," he said. Whether a meeting actually takes place is up to Putin and Selensky. However, he believes it would be appropriate for the two to talk to each other first - "in my opinion before I have a meeting and probably conclude the deal". At the same time, he emphasized: "They would like to have me at the meeting. I said: You should sort it out yourselves. (...) It's not our business."

Following Zelensky's visit to the White House a week ago, Putin stated in Moscow that Russia was prepared to take bilateral contacts in the negotiations with Ukraine to a higher level - for example to the level of foreign ministers. Following a telephone call with Putin, Trump assumed that the Kremlin leader would meet with Zelensky personally.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently confirmed that such a meeting could at best seal an agreement at the end of negotiations. However, Moscow and Kiev must first reach an agreement on peace.