Trump Calls for Zelensky-Putin Meeting

(MENAFN) U.S. President Donald Trump declared Thursday that Washington welcomes the possibility of direct negotiations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, pressing both leaders to embrace compromise as the path toward ending years of devastating conflict.

"I'm glad that they're maybe talking about meeting," Trump told reporters at the White House, responding to an open letter in which Zelensky formally proposed face-to-face talks with Putin. "I think it would be great if they met. They should. Get it done."

The U.S. president went further, suggesting his administration has already played an active role in shaping the contours of a potential settlement: "They're going to both make compromises, I suggested those compromises, and ... we've had a lot to do with it." Trump nonetheless stopped short of disclosing the specific concessions either leader had agreed to consider in pursuit of a negotiated end to the war.

Earlier Thursday, Zelensky issued a direct public appeal to Putin to engage in bilateral discussions, arguing that the prolonged fighting was steadily eroding both Russia's resources and its standing on the world stage. "Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us -- and you. I am proposing a meeting," he wrote in the open letter, published on the Ukrainian presidency's official website.

Moscow responded swiftly but on its own terms. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov extended a conditional invitation, making clear that the choice of venue was non-negotiable: "President Putin said that if Zelensky wants to talk, he can come to Moscow and do so."

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