Trump meets Zelenskiy, tells Putin ‘war has to end’
US President Donald Trump said that his message to Russian leader Vladimir Putin was that the war in Ukraine should end after what he said were “good” talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
After a nearly hour-long meeting with the Ukrainian leader at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, Trump said they had a “good” discussion but did not provide further details about the content of the conversation.
On Wednesday, Trump said a deal to end the conflict was “reasonably close.”
Trump told reporters that US ambassadors were on their way to talks in Moscow on Thursday and said, “I think it is good to meet with President Zelenskiy. This is an ongoing process.”
When asked what his message was to Putin, Trump replied: “The war has to end.”
Zelenskiy said earlier this week that he would go to Davos only if he and Trump could sign an agreement on US security guarantees and post-war reconstruction financing for Ukraine, but there was no sign of any progress after the meeting.
The two leaders have met face-to-face about a half-dozen times since Trump returned to the White House last year and upended U.S. policy toward Ukraine by embracing diplomacy with Russia.
His spokesman said that Zelenskiy, who is experiencing an energy crisis at home due to Russian air strikes that left a large part of the capital and other regions without electricity and heating, will give a speech after his meeting with Trump.
“If both sides want to resolve this, we will resolve it,” U.S. envoy to Ukraine Steve Witkoff told an audience at the World Economic Forum on Thursday morning. he said.
“I think we’ve made a lot of progress.”
Witkoff recently held talks with Ukrainian officials in Davos, following weekend talks in Florida.
He was due to travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet Putin along with US ambassador Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
The Kremlin said Putin’s meeting with Witkoff and Kushner will take place between 19:00 and 20:00 Moscow time.
Witkoff said Thursday that after these discussions, negotiators will go directly to Abu Dhabi “where military-to-military talks and the welfare package will be discussed.”
