Zelenskyy Asks Trump To Take Strict Action If Putin Doesn't Want To Meet

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv wanted a "hard reaction" from Washington if Russian President Vladimir Putin was not willing to meet him bilaterally.

US President Donald Trump is trying to mediate peace between the two warring countries. But Trump said Putin, who Zelenskyy wanted to meet in person, might not be willing to reach an agreement.

"I immediately responded to the proposed bilateral meeting: we are ready. But what if Russia is not ready?" Zelenskyy said.

"If Russia is not ready, we would like to see a strong reaction from the United States," Zelenskyy continued.

Despite a series of diplomacys in recent days between Trump and his colleagues from Russia and Ukraine, the path to peace remains uncertain as Washington and its allies are working on what security guarantees for Kyiv look like.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and now controls nearly 20% of its neighboring territories, making gradual progress in the eastern region recently despite the conflict largely easing.

Zelenskyy said it was unclear what concessions were related to the territory Moscow was willing to give to end the war. Trump previously said Kyiv and Moscow both needed to give up territory.

"To discuss what Ukraine is willing to do, let's first listen to what Russia is willing to do," Zelenskyy said. "We don't know that," he said.

In response to questions about the Hungarian capital, Budapest, which will be a potential location for Ukraine-Russia negotiations in the future, Zelenskyy said it would "challenge".

Hungary, Russia's closest ally in the European Union, has twice offered to host peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.