Zelensky ready to meet with Trump and Putin in Budapest

“I'm not sure Putin is ready to end the war”, Zelensky said in an interview for the television network NBC on October 19th.

I think he wants to continue aggression”.

Ukrainian president has said he believes Putin prefers delaying the true <x0-negotiations for peace” and is reluctant to meet him, because that would mean that the parties would have to agree on specific positions and potential concessions to end the war.

Zelensky has called for increased pressure on the Russian leader, saying Putin “is afraid of sanctions” and that secondary sanctions would bring the Russian economy down.

He has made these comments after US President Donald Trump has welcomed Zelensky in Washington on October 17th to discuss future peace negotiations.

Zelensky is headed to the White House for the third time this year with the idea that he will discuss any arms deal, which envisions the supply of the US Army with Ukrainian fears, in exchange for the long-range Tomahawk missiles, but Trump has been cooled over such a pact.

The American president has called on Russia and Ukraine to immediately stop fighting, saying that enough blood has been shed, and has announced plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest in the coming weeks.

The exact date of the summit has not been disclosed.

During an interview with NBC, Zelensky has reiterated that he is open to engage in bilateral or tripartite peace talks with the United States and Russia at the negotiating table.

The American daily Washington Post reported on October 18th that Putin has demanded that Kiev completely abandon the Donjeck region, a region of strategic importance east of Ukraine that is partly caught by Russia, as a precondition for ending the war.

In some comments Trump made after the phone call held with Putin, he has said that the region should be “due to the situation that is currently” meaning Russia should control 78 percent of the region.

However, in comments he made on October 19th, Trump has denied having discussed discussing Ukraine giving up Donjeck.

Asked in an interview for Fox television network, if Putin is willing to accept a peace agreement, Trump said “ai will get something”.

Territorial concessions are expected to be part of any eventual agreement for Ukraine, though it is unclear what Putin can agree to, or what Kiev can offer.

Ukraine's constitution envisions national referendum to approve any change on state territory, which cannot be held under the current state of war declared by Russia's launch of war in Ukraine in 2022. / REL/