File photo: Russian President Putin, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy (Picture credit: AP)
US President Donald Trump has expressed uncertainty over arranging direct talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, though he suggested trilateral discussions involving himself could still take place.In an interview with the Daily Caller published Saturday, Trump said he doubted a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy would happen anytime soon. “A tri would happen. A bi, I don’t know about, but a tri will happen,” he said. Trump added that sometimes conflicts need to “fight for a little bit before you can get them to stop.”Trump also told the outlet he was willing to consider limited US air support as part of security guarantees to help Europe secure an end to the war. “They’re not our soldiers, but there are, five to 7,000, mostly young people, being killed every single week. If I could stop that and have a plane flying around the air every once in a while, it’s going to be mostly the Europeans, but we’d help them,” Trump said, while ruling out “boots on the ground.”Speaking to the Daily Caller, Trump defended the approach against critics who argue it undermines his “America First” stance. “We sell equipment to Nato. They pay for the equipment. We’re not spending any money in the war,” he said.According to CBS News, Zelenskyy on Friday voiced frustration at Russia’s delays, accusing Moscow of avoiding serious talks. He said the Kremlin’s demand to settle issues through lower-level officials before a summit was “artificial … because they want to show the United States that they are constructive, but they are not constructive.” Zelenskyy insisted leaders “must urgently be involved to reach agreements.”Despite these efforts, fighting has intensified. Russia’s military chief Valery Gerasimov said Moscow’s forces had seized more than 1,351 square miles of Ukrainian territory since March and were pressing deeper into the Dnipropetrovsk region. Over the weekend, Ukraine reported Russian airstrikes killing at least one civilian and wounding 28, including children, in Zaporizhzhia.While Trump maintains he still hopes to mediate, Moscow has so far resisted a direct meeting with Kyiv, even as Russian forces continue large-scale assaults across Ukraine.
