Trump says talks with Putin don’t depend on meeting Zelenskyy

He said this during a briefing at the White House.

When asked by a journalist whether a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a mandatory condition for talks with Putin, Donald Trump denied it.

“They want to meet with me, and I will do everything I can to stop the killings. Over the past month, they have lost 14,000 people — killed this month. Every week, 4–5 thousand people. I don’t like long paths. I think it’s a disgrace,” he added.

Trump also noted that his deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions against Russia depends on the Russian leader.

“It depends on him. We’ll see what he says. We are disappointed,” the U.S. president said.

Background

On Wednesday, August 6, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Moscow, where he met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Their dialogue lasted about three hours. According to the White House chief, the talks were productive.

That same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call, which European leaders also joined.

Later, at a briefing, Trump announced a high likelihood of a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the near future.

On August 7, Zelenskyy held talks with Merz, Macron, and von der Leyen on the peace process.

Meanwhile, the New York Post wrote that the U.S. president will hold negotiations with Vladimir Putin if the latter agrees to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to Axios, information later confirmed by Zelenskyy, U.S. President’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will hold a videoconference with senior officials from Ukraine, France, Germany, the UK, Finland, and Italy. During the conversation, Witkoff will share details of his August 6 meeting with Vladimir Putin and discuss next steps.

Later, Zelenskyy reported that the conversation had taken place and that they agreed to continue it the following day.