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Bloomberg: Putin still wants all of Donbas — Trump told Zelensky over the phone

Author:
Olha Bereziuk
Date:

«Babel'»

The US President Donald Trump, in a conversation with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has not changed his position on the issue of territories.

Bloomberg writes about this, citing sources.

The publicationʼs interlocutors say that Putin still wants Ukraine to cede control over all of Donbas. At the same time, Trump himself emphasized that the issue of territories should be resolved by Kyiv.

The agencyʼs sources also noted that Russia may stop making its claims to the unoccupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, effectively freezing the front line there.

What is known about the talks between Putin and Trump?

Putin and Trump held talks in a “three-on-three” format on August 15. The meeting lasted about three hours, after which the US president and the Kremlin leader made brief statements, but did not answer journalists’ questions. The leaders did not make any significant statements about the ceasefire in Ukraine and related issues, but both spoke positively about the talks. There were also no agreements on a trilateral summit with Zelensky’s participation.

On the morning of August 16, Trump had a phone conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky, which lasted over an hour and a half — first one-on-one, then European leaders joined in. The US President briefed Zelensky on his meeting with Putin and the main points of their conversation.

At the same time, it became known that Trump invited Volodymyr Zelensky to meet on August 18 in Washington — the Ukrainian president says that there they will discuss "all the details after the killings are over, after the war is over".

After a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European leaders, and a meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, Trump said that "all together" decided that we should move immediately to a peace agreement, rather than talk about a temporary ceasefire.

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