Putin praises Trump’s efforts to end the Ukraine war before Friday in Alaska
LONDON (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin praised on Thursday the efforts of US President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine, more than three years after Moscow launched its invasion, as the two leaders prepared the US -Russia -Russia summit on Friday in Alaska.
After a meeting on Thursday with senior government officials at the summit, Putin said in a short video issued by the Kremlin that the Trump administration is making “very active and honest efforts to stop hostilities” and “reaching agreements of interest to all concerned parties.”
Putin also suggested that “the long -term peace conditions between our countries, in Europe and the world as a whole” can be reached under the United States on controlling nuclear weapons.
In Washington, Trump said there is a 25 % chance to fail the summit, but he also put forward the idea that if the meeting succeeds, he can bring Ukrainian President Voludimir Zellinsky to Alaska at a three -way meeting.
In a radio interview with Fox News, Trump also said he might be ready to stay in Alaska for a longer period, depending on what is happening with Putin.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy and other European leaders worked to ensure that their interests are taken into account when Trump and Putin gathered in Ancorag.
Uncertainty in Europe
UK Prime Minister Kiir Starmer Zelinski welcomed London on Thursday in a British support for Ukraine a day before Trump Putin’s critical meeting. The two heatly embraced outside Starmer offices at 10 Download Street without giving any comments, and Zelenskyy left after about an hour.
Zelinski’s trip to the British capital came a day after participating in virtual meetings from Berlin with Trump and the leaders of many European countries. These leaders said that Trump assured them that he would achieve a priority from trying to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine when he meets Putin.
Speaking after the correspondents’ meetings, Trump warned of “very serious consequences” for Russia if Putin did not agree to stop the war against Ukraine after a Friday meeting.
While some European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Mirz and French President Emmanuel Macron, praised the video conference on Wednesday with Trump as a constructive, the uncertainty about how the United States’s speech has been evolved towards Zelinski and Putin significantly since retention this year – very very interested in any of the interested parts.
Zelinski and the Europeans were concerned that the United States’ bilateral summit Russia would leave them and their interests are cheerful, and that any conclusions can prefer Moscow and leave future security for Ukraine and Europe in danger.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has reduced the expectations of any breakthroughs from Friday’s summit, saying that there are no plans to sign documents and that it will be a “big mistake” to predict the results of the negotiations, according to the Russian news port.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that the meeting between Trump and Putin will start at 11:30 am local time. Putin’s foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters that Trump and Putin will first sit at one meeting on one meeting between the two delegations. Then the “Iftar” talks will continue. A joint press conference will be followed.
Trump contradicts the Kremlin, saying that no decisions were taken regarding a press conference with Putin. Uncertainty reflects the top of the top, including its schedule, is still unstable.
Regional safety in Ukraine
Starmer said on Wednesday that the Alaska summit could be a way to a ceasefire in Ukraine, but also indicated European concerns that Trump might force a deal that forces Ukraine to waive lands to Russia. He warned that Western allies should be ready to intensify pressure on Russia if necessary.
During a call on Wednesday between the leaders of the countries participating in the “coalition from those who wish” – those who are ready to help the police in any future peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev – Starmer emphasized that any ceasefire deal should protect “regional integrity” in Ukraine.
“The international borders cannot be, nor should they be changed by force,” he said.
Kiev has long insisted that the guarantees against the future Russian attacks provided by its Western allies will be a prerequisite for achieving a solid end to fight. However, many Western governments have been reluctant to commit military personnel.
The two countries in the coalition, which includes France and the United Kingdom, were trying for several months to secure US security support, if this happened. After the virtual meetings on Wednesday, Macron said that Trump told the collected leaders that although NATO should not be part of future security guarantees, “the United States and all the parties concerned must participate.”
“It is a very important clarification we received,” said Macron.
Trump did not refer to any American security obligations during his comments on correspondents on Wednesday.
Some Ukrainians are skeptical
With another high -level meeting on the future of their country on the horizon, some Ukrainians expressed doubts about the summit horizons.
Olikandra Cozlova, 39, who works for a digital agency in Kiev, told Associated Press on Wednesday that it believed that the Ukrainians had “already hoped” that useful progress could be made towards ending the war.
She said, “I don’t think this tour will be crucial.” “There were already sufficient meetings and negotiations that promise us, and ordinary people, that something will be resolved, and that things will improve, and that the war will end. Unfortunately, this did not happen, so personally I do not see any changes coming.”
Anton Fishnak, a car seller in Kiev, said that Ukraine’s priority should now save the lives of members of the military service, even at the expense of regional privileges.
“At the present time, the most important thing is to preserve the lives of male and female military individuals. After all, many human resources remain,” he said. “The borders are limits, but human life is invaluable.”
Russia and Ukraine trade strikes
Zelinski said on Thursday that Ukraine received the launch of 84 Russian families, including soldiers and civilians. Zelinski wrote on Telegram that the people who have been released are the people who have been keeping it by Russia since 2014, 2016 and 2017, as well as the soldiers who defended the Ukrainian city of Mariolol now occupied by Russia.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that it had received 84 soldiers as part of the exchange of prisoners.
In other developments, Russian strikes in the Sumi region of Ukraine on Wednesday night led to many injuries, Ukrainian regional officials said. According to the regional ruler, Ole Herhorov, a regional governor of Ole Herhorov, a regional governor of Olet Herhorov, a regional governor of Ollehrhov, a regional governor of Oil Herhorov, a regional governor of Oil Herhorov, a regional governor of Ole Herhorov, a missile strike on a village in the community of Seridina-Bodesca, was running one of the missiles on a village in the community of Seridina Bodesca, a 7 -year -old man, according to the regional ruler, Olet Herherv. The girl was transferred to the hospital in a stable condition.
In Russia, the Ukrainian drone attack has damaged many residential buildings in the southern city of Rostov on Dion, near the border with Ukraine, where 13 civilians were injured, according to the Acting Governor of the region, Yuri Slousar. Sliusar said that two of the wounded had been taken to hospital in serious condition.
___
I mentioned Spike from Budapest, Hungary. The Associated Press Loren Cook book in Brussels. Hanna Arheraova in Kyiv, Ukraine; Katie Mary Davis in Manchester, England; In this report, this report contributed to this report, Dasha Letvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and contributed to this report in this report, Dasha Littenova in Tallinn, Estonia, and contributed to Washington.
___
Follow the AP War coverage in Ukraine on https://appnyws.com/hub/russia-ukraine
