Zelenskiy says high-level meeting between Ukraine, Russia, US, EU and UK being considered

KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Kyiv and its partners were considering arranging a high-level meeting between Ukraine, Russia, the United States, European Union countries and Britain as part of a push to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv after holding two phone calls with US President Donald Trump, the Ukrainian leader said he hoped the meeting could happen as soon as possible and that it could be hosted by Turkey, the Vatican or Switzerland.

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“We are considering a meeting of all teams at a high level,” he said.

Zelenskiy said he spoke to Trump one-on-one on Monday before the US leader called Russian President Vladimir Putin, and again afterwards in a conversation that involved the leaders of France, Finland, Germany, Italy and the European Union.

Trump said after his call with Putin that Russia and Ukraine “will immediately start negotiations” towards a ceasefire.

Zelenskiy said that during his initial call with Trump he underlined the need for a ceasefire and sanctions on Russia as well as the importance of Kyiv’s allies not reaching agreements with Russia without Ukraine.

“I am very focused, it is a challenging (not easy) time for us now,” he said.

Ukraine and Russia held direct negotiations in Istanbul last week at the behest of the United States. The talks highlighted how far apart they are on their vision for ending the war, which is now grinding through its fourth year.

Zelenskiy said he expected Europe to announce a “strong” new package of sanctions on Russia, though he did not elaborate. He called on the United States to sanction Russia’s banking and energy sectors to reduce the revenue for its military needs.

He said he hoped that a major prisoner swap agreed in principle at the talks in Istanbul would happen in either days or weeks.