Putin–Trump meeting matters only for U.S.-Russia bilateral relations, Zelenskyy says

He said this at a press conference, according to We Ukraine.

“Talking about Ukraine without Ukraine is impossible and no one will accept it. Therefore, a conversation between the President of the United States — and we support the United States — and Putin can certainly be important for their bilateral track. But they cannot decide anything about Ukraine without us,” Zelenskyy said.

The president also said he believes the head of the White House understands this.

According to Zelenskyy, a trilateral meeting at the leaders’ level (with Trump and Putin) will take place, but the date is unknown.

Background

On August 8, Bloomberg and WSJ reported that U.S. President Donald Trump may be willing to accept Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s terms to formally recognize Russian control over parts of occupied Ukrainian territories.

On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump said that a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine would involve some exchange of territories.

Later, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would hold a meeting with the Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the state of Alaska next Friday.

Before the Trump-Putin meeting, senior officials from the U.S., Ukraine, and European countries are set to hold talks to coordinate their joint positions.

Media also reported that Volodymyr Zelenskyy might join the meeting between the American and Russian leaders. However, at a briefing on August 11, Trump noted that he will meet with Putin first, and later there might be a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, or all three together.