KYIV, Ukraine— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukrainian officials want to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders next week to discuss recent developments in efforts to end the three-year war with Russia.
The proposed meetings appeared designed to add momentum to the push for peace, as Zelenskyy expressed frustration with what he called Russia’s lack of constructive engagement in the process while it continues to launch devastating aerial attacks on civilian areas.
Trump has bristled at Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s stalling on an U.S. proposal for direct peace talks with Zelenskyy, and said a week ago he expected to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks aren’t scheduled.
Trump complained last month that Putin “ talks nice and then he bombs everybody.” But he has also chided Ukraine’s attacks, and a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight from Wednesday to Thursday that killed at least 23 people drew no public condemnation from the Trump administration. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted Thursday that Ukraine has been striking Russian oil refineries.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, is expected to meet Friday in New York with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss preparations for upcoming meetings, Zelenskyy said during a briefing.
Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that he expected “several meetings at different venues” with European leaders next week.
Ukrainian negotiators have been trying to move the peace process forward in talks in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and the United States, he said.
Ukraine has accepted a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire and a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, but Moscow has raised objections.
Ukraine wants leaders involved
Zelenskyy accused Russia of dragging out negotiations, including by putting off a Russia-Ukraine summit with the argument that the groundwork for a possible peace settlement must be thrashed out first by lower officials before leaders meet.
That reasoning, Zelenskyy said, is “artificial … because they want to show the United States that they are constructive, but they are not constructive.”
“In my opinion, leaders must urgently be involved to reach agreements,” Zelenskyy added.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday reiterated Moscow’s long-held position that Putin “doesn’t rule out” meeting Zelenskyy, but only after progress is made “at the expert level.”
A summit “must be well prepared so that it can finalize the work that must first be carried out at the expert level,” Peskov told reporters during his daily conference call.
“At this point we can’t say that the expert work is in full swing, so to speak. No, unfortunately, not. We maintain our interest and our readiness for these negotiations,” he said.
