Khaberni - US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would not meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or Russian President Vladimir Putin until the parties are close to reaching a final agreement to end the war between the two countries.
According to the news site "Axios," Trump had previously set Thanksgiving as the final deadline for Ukraine to obtain his signature on his peace plan, but he is now prepared to give more time to negotiations as the pace of progress in the talks accelerates.
Trump explained to reporters aboard the presidential plane while heading to Florida that he does not have a specific final deadline to reach an agreement.
He wrote on the "Truth Social" platform: "Over the past week, my team has made tremendous progress regarding ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. The original 28-point peace plan drafted by the United States was reviewed, with additional amendments made by both parties, leaving only a few points of contention."
It is scheduled for Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week, as Trump told reporters. Also, US Army Secretary Dan Driskoll, who held talks with Russian officials on Tuesday, will have another meeting with the Ukrainian side.
Trump added, "I look forward to meeting President Zelensky and President Putin soon, but only when the agreement to end this war is final or in its final stages."
After a successful round of negotiations in Geneva with the US delegation last Sunday, Zelensky sought to meet Trump in Mar-a-Lago this week, possibly during the Thanksgiving holiday, but the White House was hesitant to extend the invitation, pending Moscow's response to an amended 19-point peace plan.
In Kyiv, the head of the Ukrainian President's office, Andriy Yermak, said in a post on the X platform that he "spoke with Driskoll on Tuesday", indicating that the Army Secretary would visit Kyiv again later this week.
Yermak added, "We are ready to continue working as quickly as possible to end the bloodshed. We have a solid foundation laid in Geneva, and President Zelensky and his entire team are fully committed to moving forward. The meeting of the presidents will be prepared with precision and speed on our side."
