Ukraine prefers a trilateral meeting, but is ready for a bilateral track - Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is ready for a bilateral meeting with Russia. At the same time, he expressed the opinion that it would be better to immediately hold a trilateral meeting with the participation of United States President Donald Trump. This was discussed during a joint briefing by Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, UNN reports.

Details

I had a long conversation with President Trump. We reached a general understanding of how the diplomatic path could proceed. We have no agreements with the "Russkies"; we agreed with President Trump.

He also emphasized that initially, a trilateral meeting was discussed, but then Trump accepted the Russians' proposal to first hold a bilateral meeting.

We talked about a trilateral meeting. Then President Trump had a meeting with the "Russkie" side and he said: "Let's first do a bilateral track." He said that it was the "Russkies'" proposal to do a bilateral track, and then a trilateral one.

The head of state stressed that he does not want Ukraine to put forward demands that will then be used as obstacles to peace.

I don't want us to set any conditions that someone will then use as obstacles to ending the war. If President Trump wants a bilateral track, and then a trilateral one - we are ready. Let's talk about the date and place.

Addition

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia is trying to disrupt diplomatic meetings on ending the war. He emphasized that Ukraine is open to productive negotiations, and if Russia refuses diplomacy, powerful sanctions are needed.

Zelenskyy also outlined the requirements for Ukraine's future security architecture, which include guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5 and systemic funding for the army. He also emphasized the importance of partners' investments in the production of Ukrainian drones.