Translated with AI
Following a summit with European leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington, US President Donald Trump announced the start of preparations for direct talks between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.
"The meeting was very productive. We agreed to launch the process of preparing for negotiations between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Further trilateral negotiations are planned, with my participation," Trump noted in his post on the social media platform Truth Social. He added that US Vice President James D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steven Witkoff will lead the summit's preparations.
The American leader emphasized that the key topic of the negotiations was security guarantees for Ukraine, which will be provided by European countries in coordination with the United States.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the summit's results exceeded expectations. He stated that a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy is scheduled to take place within the next two weeks. "The United States expressed its readiness to provide Kyiv with security guarantees and coordinate them jointly with the Europeans," Merz said. He added that the issue of possible territorial concessions by Ukraine was not discussed at the meeting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the American statements "a major step forward" and emphasized that the details of the guarantees must be agreed upon within ten days. Kyiv, in particular, is counting on financial assistance for economic recovery and arms procurement.
The Ukrainian head of state also confirmed his readiness for personal talks with Putin "without preconditions," including a ceasefire. Furthermore, Zelenskyy announced an agreement with Trump to facilitate a prisoner exchange with Russia on an "all for all" basis, which would include military personnel, civilians, journalists, and political prisoners.
On August 19, a videoconference of the "coalition of the willing" to support Ukraine will be held, involving 30 countries. On the same day, an extraordinary meeting of the EU Council will be held to discuss the results of the Washington summit.
