Ukraine says plans underway for Zelenskyy-Trump meeting

Preliminary planning is underway for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President-elect Donald Trump amid concerns over future US support, Kyiv’s top diplomat said, Report informs via The Seattle Times.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha spoke at a press briefing in Kyiv with Josep Borrell, the EU’s top foreign policy official.

A “dialog” has been established between Zelenskyy and Trump, Sybiha said, after the pair spoke this week.

“Possible future contacts at the level of leaders were discussed, and it was agreed that teams will start preparation work to organize such a meeting,” he said, declining to indicate whether a meeting is planned before or after Trump’s inauguration in January.

Zelenskyy has had a troubled relationship with Trump since a controversial 2019 phone call that ultimately lead to an impeachment trial of the US president. The two met in New York in September, though, with Zelenskyy pitching his so-called victory plan, which he said aimed to force Russia to negotiate.

Trump’s pledge to broker a swift end to the war has raised fears in Kyiv that Ukraine may be driven into a settlement that would freeze the conflict in its current position, allowing the Kremlin time to rearm and renew its assault, as well as hold onto large swathes of territory in Ukraine’s east and southeast.

“We need real peace but not aggressor’s appeasement, which will bring a bigger war,” Sybiha said.