While Thursday’s peace negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Dictator Vladimir Zelensky failed to materialize, future talks are reportedly in the pipeline. Officials from Moscow and Kiev spoke for two hours on Thursday regarding a prisoner exchange involving 1,000 prisoners from each side and versions of a potential ceasefire.
“A potential meeting between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin was also reportedly raised, and Umerov added that an update on possible new negotiations would be shared soon,” RT said Friday.
Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said that Ukraine requested a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, which Moscow “has taken note of the proposal”. According to Medinsky the Russian delegation was happy with the outcome of Thursday’s meeting and is ready to continue the discussions.
The Russian official also said that Moscow and Kiev will each present a detailed vision of a possible ceasefire. Following this step the negotiations will continue. No concrete timeline has been set for this.
While on his Middle East tour in the United Arab Emirates Friday, President Donald Trump said that he wants to meet Putin “as soon as we can set it up.” Trump did much of the groundwork in bringing the two countries together.
The President also said that while the world is now a “much safer place,” it will become “much, much safer” in “two to three weeks,” referencing the ongoing peace process.
“We’re going to get it done,” Trump said.
The meeting between the Slavic heads of state failed due Putin not showing up. Trump said that he will be able to break the deadlock.
“I said, you know, they all said Putin was going, Zelensky was going, and I said, if I don’t go, I guarantee Putin’s not going. And he didn’t go,” Trump said Friday.
“I don’t think we’re going to have a breakthrough here until President Trump and President Putin interact directly on this topic,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Turkey Thursday.
While direct talks are in their early stages between Russia and Ukraine, the prospect of talks between NATO and Russia is still cold.
“It is difficult to talk about resuming any kind of dialogue when NATO while it is effectively at war with the Russian Federation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.
Thursday’s talks were sparked off after Trump ordered direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev following the signing of Washington’s mineral deal which aims to pay the U.S. back for military aid while also progressing a lasting peace following a ceasefire.