President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russia and Ukraine want to settle the war for the first time, after a day of telephone calls on the conflict that he said would continue on Saturday.
"I've had phone calls today. I'm having some tomorrow," Trump told reporters in Florida. He did not say whom he had spoken with or whom he planned to call.
"Russia and Ukraine, for the first time, I think, want to settle," Trump said. "We have meetings. I've had phone calls, having some tomorrow. They're having a meeting on Monday and Tuesday, you know, but I think they want to settle."
The trilateral meeting of Ukraine, Russia and the United States is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It will be the first three-party session in months; the last round in that format was held in Geneva in February. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian delegation will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Trump met Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House on Thursday, though he did not meet Ukrainian representatives, according to the Associated Press. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke by phone for about an hour and a half on Wednesday with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the talks, and that Kyiv has submitted proposals to the U.S. side.
Kushner said on Friday that Washington is pursuing a new European security framework built around sovereignty and territorial integrity, with no country holding a veto over another's security alliances, as part of the push toward a settlement.
Trump described the possible deal in sweeping terms. "I think it's going to be a very big settlement," he said. "I think it's going to involve all of Europe."
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke with Trump by phone on Friday about the planned negotiations, a German government spokesman said, stressing the need for European participation in any talks on the continent's security. Berlin said it is informed about the American administration's discussions.
Separately, Beijing confirmed this week that it is discussing the possibility of a meeting between Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen later this month, Reuters reported. The proposed summit has not been confirmed.
