US President Donald Trump is open to interviews about the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but only if the Russian and Ukrainian presidents are willing to come to the negotiating table, said the White House on Tuesday (June 3).
“The President said it was open if this happened, but he wants both of these leaders and both sides to come together to the table,” said Karoline Leavitt, a press secretary of the White House.
The nature of Erdogan’s proposal has not been officially published, but sources familiar with diplomatic discussions claim that the Turkish leader has proposed to host or mediate interviews between the disputed parties in an effort to alleviate the growing regional tension.
Erdogan suggests a three -way summit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed to organize a milestone summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zlensky and US President Donald Trump in Istanbul or Ankara at the end of this month.
Putin resists, green open dialogue
While the Erdogan initiative pointed out international attention, Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far refused to participate. Ukraine, on the other hand, welcomed this idea and emphasized the need for direct involvement between leaders to solve the most critical problems.
“Key problems can only be solved at the level of the leaders,” he said Zelenkly after the last round of interviews in Istanbul.
More direct conversations will stop again
Despite the renewed diplomatic engagement, progress in the complex ceasefire remains elusive. Ukraine said Russia refused its call for an unconditional ceasefire and instead offered a limited break for two to three days in selected leading areas.
“The Russian side continued to reject the proposal of an unconditional ceasefire,” said Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya in Ukraine.
The Russian head of the negotiator Vladimir Medinsky confirmed the limited offer.
“In certain areas of the front line, we designed a specific ceasefire for two to three days,” he said to Medinsky, explaining that it was necessary to collect the bodies of dead soldiers.
Requirements for Russia: Territorial pulling and NATO ban
According to documents submitted by Russian negotiators Moscow, the Ukrainian military withdrawal from four infested regions – Donetsk, Lugansk, Zeporizzhia and Kherson – as a condition for wider peace.
In addition, Russia wants to join Ukraine to NATO, limiting its military skills and ending Western military support.
The agreement on the exchange of prisoners and repatriation of the soldiers has reached
Despite the tension, both parties managed to agree on humanitarian issues. The agreement was completed to exchange all seriously injured soldiers and all captured fighters under 25 years of age, including at least 1,000 individuals on each side.
Ukraine also announced that both parties agreed to repatriate bodies of 6,000 fallen soldiers.
Also read | Trump-Xi calls “probably”, whom says WH in the middle of stopped trading tariffs
Green: “No rewards for aggressor”
At a press conference in Vilnius, he clarified Zelena that any future agreement must not be beneficial for Russia for his aggression.
“The key to permanent peace is clear – the aggressor must not receive any reward for the war,” he said, repeating that permanent peace can only be arranged after hostility has completely ceased.
The Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, who led the Kiev delegation, called for a subsequent meeting until the end of June and supported the idea of Putin-Zelensky summit.
Turkey: Atmosphere constructive
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described Monday’s negotiations as productive. “The parties built on the points they agreed during the first meeting,” he said on X, adding that preparations for the summit of possible leaders are taking place.
(with AFP inputs)
Also read | Trump refers to the boulder attack suspects that Biden’s failure of the border policy: “We have to…” (tagstotranslate) Trump open interviews with Putin and Zelena
