'Ukraine is not afraid of meetings' — Zelensky confirms trilateral leader summit under discussion
Editor's note: This item has been updated to include details about a phone call between President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Aug. 7 discussions about both a bilateral and trilateral summit among the leaders as part of efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The statement comes after Moscow confirmed plans for a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days.
Trump is also reportedly aiming for a subsequent trilateral meeting involving Zelensky as he pushes for a swift resolution of the war, threatening to impose fresh sanctions on Moscow unless it agrees to cease hostilities.
"Yesterday (Aug. 6), various potential formats for leader-level meetings to bring peace were also discussed – two bilateral and one trilateral," Zelensky said on X after a phone call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
"Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side. It is time we ended the war."
Zelensky called with Trump and European leaders on Aug. 6, during which the U.S. president briefed them on the discussions between special envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin in Moscow earlier in the day.
According to the New York Times, the call involved U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Ukraine's president voiced cautious optimism about the progress of peace talks, saying that "Russia now seems to be more inclined toward a ceasefire."
After his conversation with Merz, Zelensky spoke by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron to share Ukraine's perspective on the discussions with Trump and European leaders.
"We coordinate our positions and share the view that a common European approach to key security issues for Europe is necessary," Zelensky wrote.
"Emmanuel reported on his contacts with leaders – those that had already taken place that morning and those that were still planned for today."
The U.S. president initially praised the meeting between Witkoff and Putin as "highly productive" but later declined to call it a breakthrough, noting that additional U.S. secondary tariffs on Russia's trading partners are likely to be imposed.
Trump previously set an Aug. 8 deadline for Russia to reach a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine, threatening to impose fresh sanctions otherwise.
Zelensky said that further talks with Ukraine's partners are scheduled later on Aug. 7, including an online meeting of national security advisors. He also stressed that Europe must be part of the peace process as "the war is happening in Europe, and Ukraine is an integral part of Europe."
Kyiv has repeatedly called for a leader-level meeting between Zelensky and Putin in recent months, calling it the only path toward a lasting resolution of the war.
The Kremlin's chief has so far refused to meet Zelensky and instead dispatched lower-level officials to peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. Putin has also not met with Trump since the latter returned to office in January.
Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov on Aug. 7 confirmed an agreement on a meeting between Trump and Putin and acknowledged that the U.S. also proposed trilateral talks with Zelensky, though Moscow has yet to formally comment on the proposal.
