President Donald Trump has announced that US, Russian and Ukrainian officials will meet at a Munich Security Conference on Friday to talk about how to end the war in Ukraine.
“Russia will be there with our people,” the US President said. “Ukraine is also invited, by the way, it is not sure who will be there from any country – and high -level people from Russia, Ukraine and the United States.”
However, Russia – which is not officially present at the annual forum in Germany – does not comment on a senior Ukrainian employee that “talks with Russians in Munich” are not expected. “
NATO US allies are still responding to Trump's surprising message this week that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in a telephone conversation to start talks to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski must meet with Trump's Vice President, JD Vance, in Munich.
Zelenski is also expected to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio's aircraft had to turn back to the US air base in Maryland late Thursday after testing a “mechanical problem” on the way to the German city. Then he had to take a different plane.
The US President announced a tripartite meeting in Munich during a press conference on Thursday without giving further details.
However, Zelenski Dmitry Litune adviser told reporters that the Ukrainian delegation had no plans to attend such a meeting.
Russia did not immediately answer the BBC's request for a comment on the matter.
Trump's message came a day after he first had separate phone calls with Putin, then Zelenski.
Describing conversations as “Great”, Trump said he had “a good opportunity to end this terrible, very bloody war.”
But he said it was not a “practical” Kiev to join NATO's military alliance, as well as “unlikely” Ukraine can return to its borders before the 2014 invasion.
Zelenski – who admitted that it was “not very pleasant” that Trump spoke to Putin in front of him – warned that Ukraine would not agree to a peace deal proposed by the US and Russia without Kiev's involvement.
“We cannot accept it as an independent state,” he said, emphasizing that his priority is “guarantees of security”, something he did not see without US support.
Zelenski said European allies “should also be at the negotiation table,” against the backdrop of increasing fears of the entire continent, that Trump's overture to Putin could lead to a separate US-Russia deal for the future of Ukraine and Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macron told The Financial Times that only Zelenski can negotiate on behalf of his country with Russia, warning “Peace that is capitulation” will be “bad news for all.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kalas said, “Every quick solution is a dirty deal.”
In Munich, Zelenski's goals in his meeting with Vance seem clear: to encourage the United States to continue to stand up to Ukraine and maintain the best interests of the obsessed nation as he tries to negotiate the termination of war.
What Americans want from this meeting is more uninsured. Vance may try to assure Zelenski that Ukrainians will participate in the upcoming peace talks, even if he seems to be a junior partner lately.
In fact, Vance can convey a stupid message – one that Defense Minister Pete Heget said publicly on Monday, even later returning it to some extent. The US does not foresee NATO, which includes Ukraine. And in order to end the war, Ukraine will have to abandon the territory that is currently under Russian control
It may be a bitter pill for Zelenski to swallow, but the type of additional US military aid for Ukraine that it will ultimately have to keep the match, it seems unlikely at that moment.
Neither Trump nor the Trump Republican Party in Congress have much interest in maintaining support.
Following the overthrow of the pro -Russian president of Ukraine in 2014, Moscow annexed the Crimean Black Sea Peninsula and supported the pro -Russian separatists in bloody battles in Eastern Ukraine.
The conflict erupted in a complete war when Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.
Moscow's attempts to take control of the capital Kiev were thwarted, but the Russian forces took about one fifth of the territory of Ukraine to the east and south and made air strikes across the country.
Ukraine avenges artillery and drones, as well as a ground offensive against the West Kursk region in Russia.
The exact number of casualties is difficult to achieve because of a secret by both Russian and Ukrainian governments, but it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people, most of them soldiers were killed or wounded, and millions of Ukrainian civilians fled as refugees.