Trump-Putin Meet Soon, Zelenskyy Calls France-Germany

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy/PHOTO via X @ZelenskyyUa

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will meet in the coming days.

The announcement comes a day after Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, held a three-hour talks with Putin in Moscow.

Trump previously threatened new sanctions against Russia and countries buying its exports starting Friday unless Putin agreed to end the 3-1/2 year conflict, the deadliest in Europe since the Second World War.

On Wednesday, Trump imposed a higher tariff on India for buying Russian oil and said similar additional duties might be imposed on China, another major buyer of Russian crude oil.

It is not yet clear whether he will announce further steps after the deadline set for Friday ends.

Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Russia and the US had agreed to hold a Putin-Trump summit "in the coming days".

Putin in a meeting with the president of the United Arab Emirates, said the UAE would be a place "completely suitable" for the meeting, but did not confirm the Gulf state would host.

There has been no summit between US and Russian leaders since Putin and Joe Biden met in Geneva in June 2021.

Russia went to war in Ukraine in February 2022, citing threats to its own security and plunged ties into a deep crisis.

Kyiv and its Western allies described the invasion as an imperial-style seizure of land.

Trump has moved to improve relations with Russia and is trying to end the war, although in his public comments he has seen between admiration and sharp criticism of Putin.

Russia's main stock market index, MOEX, rose to 5% after the news, its highest level in two months. Ruble hit the highest level in two weeks against China's US dollar and yuan.

"Russian stocks are soaring. Investors hope the (Trump-Putin) meeting will be a step towards normalizing the geopolitical situation," Alfa Bank analyst said in a note.

A White House official also said Trump could meet Putin as early as next week.

The New York Times reported Trump told European leaders by phone he intended to meet Putin and then follow up with a trilateral meeting involving Russian leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukrainian and European leaders have long feared Trump could ally with Putin to impose a deal on Zelenskyy that would be very detrimental to Kyiv.

Zelenskyy spoke on Thursday, August 7, with French and German leaders and with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and said Europe should engage in the peace process.

"The war is taking place in Europe, and Ukraine is an integral part of Europe we have negotiated to join the European Union. Therefore, Europe must be a participant in the relevant process," he said on X.

Zelenskyy said the war should end with "a dignified peace", and any settlements reached will form a European security landscape over the coming decades.

According to him, Russia has yet to say it is ready for a ceasefire.

"In the near future, it must be shown what consequences will be if Russia continues to prolong the war and disrupt constructive efforts," Zelenskyy said.

Mykola Bieberlieskov of the National Institute for Strategic Studies at Kyiv said Putin's offer to meet Trump was tantamount to giving him a reward without any reward. This, he said, gave Russia "a sense of getting out of isolation and talking equally".

He said the Kremlin would continue to buy time, using the facts of the meeting as evidence of openness to negotiations without any concessions.

Zelenskyy said various possible bilateral and trilateral meeting formats had been discussed with Trump and Ukrainian allies in Europe.

"Ukraine is not afraid of gatherings and expects the same bold approach from the Russian side," the President of Ukraine said.