Moscow, Aug 19: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump on Tuesday held a telephonic conversation reaffirming their commitment to continuing direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv delegations.
Confirming the development, Russian President’s aide Yuri Ushakov said the conversation took place at the US President’s initiative. According to Ushakov, during the discussions, Trump briefed Putin about the dialogue he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders of several European countries in Washington.
During the call, Putin also expressed gratitude to Trump for the hospitality and arrangements at the Alaska Summit, as well as for the progress they were able to achieve towards bringing about a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict.
The Russian Presidential aide said that, among other things, both Trump and Putin discussed the prospect of exploring opportunities for drawing higher-ranking officials from both Ukraine and Russia into the direct talks.
“It is quite telling that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to keep in touch with one another on the Ukrainian issue and other urgent international and bilateral matters. The President of Russia highlighted the importance of Donald Trump’s personal efforts and commitment to finding solutions for a lasting settlement in Ukraine. The conversation was quite frank and constructive,” Ushakov stated.
Meanwhile, after meetings with the Ukrainian President and European leaders, Trump on Monday announced that he is arranging a meeting between Zelensky and Putin in his effort to end the devastating war that has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and military personnel.
Following the meeting, he called the Russian President and held discussions to hold a trilateral meeting — Zelensky, Putin and Trump — to discuss the peace talks. “I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat (trilateral meeting), which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” he added.
US Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine for the meetings, Trump further said. IANS