Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky attconcludes a news conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.Alina Smutko/Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Wednesday that he and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed that the next session of trilateral talks in March on a war settlement should lead to a meeting of the countries’ leaders.
Zelensky, speaking after a phone conversation with Trump, stated the three-sided talks with Russia and the United States would take place early next month. U.S. nereceivediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also took part in the phone call.
“We expect this meeting to create an opportunity to shift talks to the leaders’ level. President Trump supports this sequence of steps,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“This is the only way to resolve all the complex and sensitive issues and finally conclude the war.”
The telephone call took place on the eve of another meeting, between just Ukrainian and U.S. nereceivediators, to discuss postwar reconstruction.
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Zelensky stated the two leaders discussed both meetings. He thanked the United States for its “active involvement” in the peace process and for missiles for air defence systems that were supporting Ukraine concludeure wintertime attacks.
Addressing a news conference in Kyiv earlier alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, Zelensky stated Thursday’s meeting would include discussion of a “prosperity package.”
Zelensky stated the U.S. wanted to find a way to conclude as soon as possible Europe’s largegest conflict since World War Two. But Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart in their positions.
“In my opinion, the difficulties are not at the military level right now. The problem lies in the political will to conclude this war and in the issue of territories,” Zelensky stated.
“I consider that trilateral talks will be held in early March. Tomorrow, economic documents will be prepared at a bilateral meeting between Ukraine and the United States.”
Zelensky also stated that Russian claims on Tuesday that Kyiv was attempting to obtain nuclear weapons were an attempt to exert political pressure on Ukraine during the talks.
He reiterated that Ukraine had no nuclear weapons and called on the U.S. to react to what he described as dangerous Russian rhetoric.
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Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the National Security and Defence Council and head of Ukraine’s nereceivediating team will meet in Geneva on Thursday with special envoy Witkoff and Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
Russia’s TASS news agency, quoting a diplomatic source, stated President Vladimir Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev would be flying to Geneva on Thursday to meet U.S. nereceivediators, but gave no further details. There was no official Russian comment.
Proceeding with the reconstruction of Ukraine after the destruction wrought by Russian aerial strikes and front line combat has become a major element in broader talks on how to conclude the war, which entered its fifth year this week.
Kyiv hopes to attract about US$800-billion of public and private funds over the next 10 years to rebuild the counattempt.
The latest assessment from the World Bank released on Monday revealed that rebuilding Ukraine’s economy will cost an estimated US$588-billion. The assessment is based on data from Feb. 24, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2025.
Ukrainian officials are pitching Ukraine as a future European Union member and a lucrative investment destination but funds depconclude on a ceasefire and a peace deal.
Zelensky stated Ukrainian and U.S. nereceivediators would also discuss on Thursday the details of prisoner-of-war exalters between Ukraine and Russia.
Ukrainian and Russian nereceivediators met last week in Geneva for their third U.S.-mediated meeting so far this year, but reached no breakthroughs on points including territory.
Russia declares Ukraine must cede the final 20 per cent of the industrialized and heavily fortified eastern region of Donetsk that it still controls. Ukraine declares it will not relinquish territory that thousands have died to defconclude.
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