The White House has finally given a reason why Volodymyr Zelensky is blocked from Friday’s summitin Alaska.
Donald Trump will host Vladimir Putin – a pariah in the West since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Pushed to give an explanation as to why their Ukrainian counterpart will not be attending the talks on the future of his country, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the ‘meeting came about’ because Putin requested it.
She told reporters last night: ‘So the president is agreeing to this meeting at the request of president Putin.’
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‘The goal of this meeting for the president is to walk away with a better understanding of how we can end this war.’
When asked, Leavitt also revealed the location of the meeting, which was previously a mystery.
It will take place at the state’s largest city, Anchorage.
‘Yes, that’s part of the plan,’ she added. Still, the exact time remains unknown.
‘And as for the other mechanics and logistics, I will let our team speak to that when they’re ironed out,’ Leavitt said.
She added that Trump hopes the three can meet sometime after his one-on-one with Putin.
‘I think the president of United States, getting in the room with the president of Russia, sitting face to face, rather than speaking over the telephone, will give this president the best indication of how to end this war,’ Leavitt said.
The White House has cast Trump’s summit with Putin as a ‘fact-finding’ mission and a ‘listening exercise’.
Though Zelensky will not be at the Anchorage meeting, Trump plans to speak with him beforehand. The US president intends to have a call with Zelensky and European leaders on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Russian media reported that Putin has talked with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about his upcoming meeting with Trump.
US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce on Tuesday said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about preparations for the summit on Friday.
Zelensky further revealed that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that it controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal the leader categorically rejected.
He reiterated that Ukraine would not withdraw from territories it controls, saying that would be unconstitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.
Amid question over the Donbas region, the president stressed that his forces will not withdraw and that such suggestions are ‘out of the question.’
Analysis: From a war-ending summit to a coffee date…
Analysis by Gergana Krasteva, Senior Foreign Reporter for Metro
What was billed – at least, in Trump’s words – as a historic, war-ending summit in Alaska, so far looks less like a turning point in geopolitics and more like a coffee date in the park.
If this was meant to be the moment when guns will finally fall silent on the frontline, it is difficult to understand why the leader whose country is under attack is not even in the room.
Citing ‘protocol’ just like a Buckingham Palace butler, the White House finally gave a reason why Zelensky is not invited.
But it is hardly good or believable enough to justify his absence.
Another point of contention that no one seems to be talking about is that the meeting between Trump and Putin was touted to be a massive breakthrough in the ceasefire negotiations.
Yet, Trump’s office has since – subtly – tried to downgrade it.
The US president told reporters it will now serve as a ‘feel-out’ meeting in his efforts to end the invasion.
Other term used for it has been a ‘listening exercise’ and a ‘fact-finding mission’.
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