President Zelenskyy Calls Trump-Putin Talks Without Ukraine Dangerous

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv's exclusion from US-Russian talks on the war in Ukraine would be ‘very dangerous’. He said this in an interview with AP.

The Ukrainian leader suggested that US President Donald Trump could engage Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in talks under the threat of sanctions against Russia's energy and banking systems, while continuing to support the Ukrainian military.

‘I believe that these are the most important steps,’ Zelenskyy said after Trump's statement on Friday that US and Russian officials were “already talking” about ending the war. Trump said his administration had ‘very serious’ conversations with Russia, but did not provide details.

‘They can have their own relationship, but it's dangerous for everyone to talk about Ukraine without us,’ Zelenskyy said.

He also said that his team has been in contact with the Trump administration, but that these talks are at a ‘general level’ and he believes that direct meetings will soon take place to reach more detailed agreements.

Zelenskyy added that Russia does not want to enter into ceasefire talks or discuss any concessions, as Russian troops have the advantage on the battlefield.

For his part, Polish President Andrzej Duda believes that the Trump administration should invite Poland to talks on the war in Ukraine. In an interview with the Financial Times, he said that if Donald Trump's administration invited states other than Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table, ‘it would be in Ukraine's interest to have Poland there as well.’