Putin has agreed to talk with Zelenskyy, says Nato chief; Kremlin denies

Mark Rutte shared details of a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which took place during the former's meeting with top European officials

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday (local time) said Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to speak to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

 

Rutte shared details of a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which took place during the former's meeting with top European officials, The Wall Street Journal reported.

 

Speaking to Fox News, Rutte said, "He was able, in a conversation with President Putin, to have Putin to agree to first a meeting between Putin and Zelensky. So they will now discuss where that meeting will take place in the run up to the trilateral". [sic]

 

Responding to the announcement made by Rutte, the Kremlin said that while Trump and Putin discussed continuing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the former did not commit to a meeting between the leaders. TASS, citing Russian officials, said, "The presidents spoke in favor of continuing direct negotiations between the delegations of the Russian Federation and Ukraine."

 

It further added, "Putin and Trump discussed the idea of raising the level of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations." 

 

The announcement by Rutte comes after Trump, on Monday, said that he has already started with the arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy to discuss ways to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is now in its fourth year.

 

Trump announced on Truth Social, his private social media platform, after he met Zelenskyy and top European leaders at the White House to discuss an end to the war.

 

The meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy, and other European leaders came after the US President met with Putin on August 15 (local time) in Alaska. 

 

Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

 

Before holding a joint press conference, Trump welcomed his Ukrainian counterpart at the White House. Speaking to reporters, Trump said that the Ukraine conflict was the "easiest" to resolve, adding that there was a reasonable chance to end the war.

 

Trump said, "I don’t know when this war will end but we have to end this war. Zelenskyy wants to end it, Putin wants to end it. I have ended six wars and I thought Russia-Ukraine would be the easiest. I ended India and Pakistan war. But I am confident we will end this war." 

 

Trump-Putin Alaska meeting

 

On August 15, the two leaders met for the first time in six years and held a nearly three-hour discussion. While both Trump and Putin described the discussions as "productive", no agreement was reached between the two.