London - Saba:
The British newspaper, The Telegraph, reported that many Ukrainian officials are anxious and suffering from sleeplessness due to fears of a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.
The newspaper explained in its article that: This (the meeting between Putin and Trump) is causing concern for Ukrainian officials. In such a meeting, Putin is alone with Trump and completely dominates his attention, without an intermediary to defend their (the Ukrainians') interests (according to the newspaper).
The newspaper believes that Trump's talk of a meeting with Putin is a humiliation to European Union leaders, who had been anticipating new sanctions from the United States against Russia.
Yesterday, Trump told reporters that he might hold a phone call with his Russian counterpart.
Later, the US president expressed his confidence in striking a deal and planning talks with the Russian president, stressing that Zelenskyy lacks leverage in the negotiations.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump emphasized the "necessity of a personal meeting with Putin," expressing his confidence that "it will happen to reach a deal on the Ukrainian crisis."
He noted that "it is important to plan everything," saying, "I think we will reach an agreement. We need to meet. Maybe we will plan for it."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized the necessity of a personal meeting between the Russian and US presidents, both from a bilateral perspective. The Russian-American bilateral relationship, or from the perspective of serious discussion and dialogue at the highest level on international affairs and regional issues, including the Ukrainian crisis.