Zelensky, Putin may meet within 2 weeks, German chancellor says
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin could meet within the next two weeks, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Aug. 19, according to Reuters.
Merz, who traveled to Washington with Zelensky and other European leaders on Aug. 18, said the agreement emerged after U.S. President Donald Trump called Putin during a break in the talks.
"The American president spoke with the Russian president and agreed that there would be a meeting between the Russian president and the Ukrainian president within the next two weeks," Merz said.
According to AFP, Putin told Trump he was willing to meet Zelensky.
Whether Putin will follow through remains uncertain, and "persuasion is needed" to ensure the Russian leader attends, Merz said.
Zelensky has repeatedly voiced readiness for direct talks. On Aug. 18, he said he was prepared to discuss territorial issues directly with Putin as part of peace talks.
Putin, while claiming openness to negotiations, had previously refused to meet Zelensky.
"The question of territory is a question that we will leave between me and Putin," Zelensky said.
Trump and Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15 for nearly three hours but failed to reach a ceasefire agreement. Trump later said "many points were agreed to" but offered no specifics.
The last time Zelensky and Putin met in person was in Paris in December 2019 during the Normandy Format talks mediated by France and Germany. They have not held direct talks since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
