The United States is making efforts to facilitate a meeting between President Donald Trump and his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Vice President JD Vance revealed on Sunday.
This development comes as European allies intensify calls for Ukraine’s participation in the upcoming US-Russia summit scheduled for Alaska this week.
Vance confirmed the diplomatic push during an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” He said, “One of the most important logjams is that Vladimir Putin said that he would never sit down with (Volodymyr) Zelensky, the head of Ukraine, and the president has now got that to change.”
The vice president added, “We’re at a point now where we’re trying to figure out, frankly, scheduling and things like that around when these three leaders could sit down and discuss an end to this conflict,” when questioned about expectations for the August 15 Alaska summit.
The proposed trilateral meeting aims to broker a compromise solution to the ongoing conflict. “We’re going to try to find some negotiated settlement that the Ukrainians and Russians can live with,” Vance explained, while acknowledging the challenges. “It’s not going to make anybody super happy, both the Russians and the Ukrainians probably at the end of the day are going to be unhappy with it.”
Initial plans for a bilateral U.S.-Russia summit without Ukrainian representation had sparked concerns among European allies about potential territorial concessions. U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker addressed these concerns on CNN, suggesting Zelensky’s participation remained possible.
When asked about the Ukrainian leader joining Friday’s discussions, Whitaker responded, “Yes, I certainly think it’s possible. Certainly, there can’t be a deal that everybody that’s involved in it doesn’t agree to. And, I mean, obviously, it’s a high priority to get this war to end.”
Ukrainian President Zelensky has engaged in intensive diplomatic preparations, holding calls with 13 world leaders over three days, including key supporters Germany, Britain, and France. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed optimism Sunday about Zelensky’s potential attendance, stating he “hoped and assumed” the Ukrainian leader would participate.
Whitaker emphasized the final decision rests with President Trump, saying, “If he thinks that that is the best scenario to invite Zelensky, then he will do that,” while clarifying that “no decision has been made to this point.”
The conflict, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties and displaced millions of Ukrainians from their homes.
