A bilateral meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin has been approved. The face-to-face meeting between the two rivals will take place by August at a location yet to be determined, and will be followed by a trilateral meeting with Donald Trump.
"Preparations are underway," the American president said. A historic meeting during which—Zelensky admitted—the issue of territories will be addressed, a topic that wasn't addressed during the long day of meetings at the White House despite Trump's weeks-long talk of exchanges.
Europe is cautious, and Trump himself admits on Fox that "Vladimir Putin may not want to reach an agreement. We'll find out more about Putin in the next two weeks." "I hope Putin is good," he said, "otherwise the situation will be tough. Zelensky must also show flexibility." But in any case, "let's let them meet first: they're the ones who have to make the decisions."
The summit should be held in Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron said, expressing his hope that it would take place in Geneva. "More than a hypothesis, it's actually a collective will," Macron declared: "It will be a neutral country." Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed his support: "Geneva could be the right venue. Italy supports the summit being held in Geneva because Switzerland is a country that has always worked to build peace."
Regarding the fact that the Russian president is subject to an international arrest warrant by the ICC , Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis emphasized that "last year the Federal Council clarified the legal situation and defined the procedures" for " granting immunity to a person subject to an international arrest warrant " arriving in Switzerland, "if that person appears for a peace conference, not if he or she appears for private reasons."
Following the Oval Office summit between Trump and Zelensky ( NEWS ), yesterday's multilateral meeting with EU leaders focused on security guarantees, a point on which intense discussions will continue. "We discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, guarantees that will be provided by various European countries, in coordination with the United States," Trump explained, without going into detail. "We are evaluating NATO-style Article 5 guarantees," Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized in an interview with Fox, specifying that the possible deployment of American troops was not discussed. "We will work on this in the coming days; we need to discuss more details," he added.
"Westerners will formalize security guarantees for Ukraine within 10 days," Zelensky announced, implying that negotiations will continue at a tense pace. European leaders, including the Ukrainian president, described a positive and constructive meeting at the White House with Trump. The discussions were "intense," emphasized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who stressed that territorial concessions cannot be forced on Kiev.
Merz nonetheless expressed appreciation for the American commitment to offering security guarantees. Speaking of "progress," French President Emmanuel Macron expressed caution: "I doubt Putin wants peace," he said, calling for "increased sanctions" against Russia if negotiations fail.
The Kremlin leader "is not trustworthy," Finnish President Alexander Stubb noted, emphasizing that Trump's 40-minute phone call to the Kremlin leader during the White House talks was a good idea. However, he emphasized, it remains to be seen whether he will have the courage to have such a meeting.
(Unioneonline)