Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that the United States (US), Russia and Ukraine will hold a trilateral meeting, a first of its kind since the beginning of the conflict in Europe in February 2022, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Friday. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland's Davos, the Ukrainian president said it will be a two-day meeting, as he hoped for an end to the conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.
Zelenskyy, who also met US President Donald Trump in Davos on Thursday, also spoke about his meeting with the 79-year-old Republican leader, calling it positive. However, he reiterated that Ukraine must be ensured "really strong security guarantees", as he is not sure whether Putin wants to bring an end to this war.
"The meeting was good and it was in favour of our country," Zelenskyy said here after his special address at the WEF Annual Meeting. "As any President, I have to defend the interest of my country and such meetings are generally difficult. But, yes, today it was positive."
In his remarks, the Ukrainian president asserted that Russia will not win this war, calling their economy "is really tired" and has been severely impacted. Whether Russia wants to end the war, it is on them, but Ukraine will stop it, he said. He also pushed for a stronger Europe, saying it must have an army of at least three million to stop Russia.
Zelenskyy's remark comes hours after Trump said he will soon meet Putin. Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has often pushed for an end to Ukraine war, and he had also held a meeting with Putin in Alaska in August last year. The meeting was described successful by the two leaders, with both promising another summit, but talks were halted after that.
Trump, who says he is good at "settling wars", has claimed that he had reached to deal with Russia on many times, but those conditions were not acceptable to Zelenskyy, adding that it is "very difficult" to find a balance. However, Zelenskyy recently had said his envoys would try to finalise with US officials documents for a proposed peace deal.
"It's got to get done. Saving a lot of lives, saving millions of lives. With Ukraine and Russia, this tremendous hatred between President Zelensky and President Putin. That's not good. That's not good for settlements," Trump had said. "It's a blood bath. It's horrible what's happening. Drones are killing thousands of people a week. We have to get it stopped."
