President Trump Promises Kyiv's Involvement In Peace Talks With Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin US President Donald Trump Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (VOIcolose)

JAKARTA - United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday Ukraine would engage in peace negotiations with Russia, although Kyiv said it was too early to talk to Moscow at a security conference on Friday.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, President Trump said Ukraine would have a place at the negotiating table during peace negotiations with Russia to end the war.

"They are part of it. We will involve Ukraine, and we will involve Russia, and we will involve other people, many people," President Trump said.

When asked if he believed in Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said: "I'm sure he wants to see something happen. I believe in him about this."

President Trump said US and Russian officials would meet in Munich on Friday and Ukraine were also invited.

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv did not expect to hold talks with Russia at the annual Munich Security Conference on Friday, believing the United States, Europe, and Ukraine needed the same position before talks with Moscow.

In addition, President Trump also told reporters there would be a meeting of top officials, although not leaders, of the three Saudi Arabias next week aimed at ending the war.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed "the need for brave diplomacy" to end the war by phone call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the State Department said.

Separately, President Trump's unilateral approach to President Putin on Wednesday, accompanied by concessions over Ukraine's main demands, raised concerns for Kyiv and European allies in NATO who said they feared the White House might make a deal without them.

"We, as sovereign countries, will not be able to accept any agreement without us," President Zelensky said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine would "of course" participate in peace negotiations in certain ways, but there would also be bilateral negotiations between the United States and Russia.

Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and its proxies seized territory in the east in 2014, before a full-scale invasion in 2022, when it seized more territory in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukraine then pushed back Russian invaders from the Kyiv outskirts and reclaimed much of the territory by 2022. However, its troops that are outnumbered and weapons have slowly surrendered more territory since the failed Ukrainian counter-attack in 2023.

Last August, Ukraine launched a cross-border attack on Russian territory in Kursk, the first attack on the country's territory since World War II.