Zelenskyy seeks talks with Trump and European leaders on slow progress of peace efforts with Russia
KYIV Ukraine AP Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained Friday that Ukrainian representatives want to meet with U S President Donald Trump and European leaders next week to discuss latest developments in efforts to end the three-year war with Russia The proposed meetings appeared designed to add momentum to the push for peace as Zelenskyy expressed frustration with what he called Russia s lack of constructive engagement in the process while it continues to launch devastating aerial attacks on civilian areas Trump has bristled at Russian leader Vladimir Putin s stalling on an U S proposal for direct peace talks with Zelenskyy and declared a week ago he expected to decide on next efforts in two weeks if direct talks aren t scheduled Trump complained last month that Putin talks nice and then he bombs everybody But he has also chided Ukraine for its attacks At an exigency meeting of the U N Protection Council on Friday the United States warned Russia to move toward peace and meet with Ukraine or face accomplishable sanctions The meeting was called after a major Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight from Wednesday to Thursday that killed at least people John Kelley the U S mission s minister-counselor disclosed the strikes cast doubt on the seriousness of Russia s desire for peace and demanded they stop He announced Putin and Zelenskyy must agree to meet and reiterated Trump s warning that the U S could impose sanctions on Russia if the war continues Zelenskyy s top adviser meets Trump s special envoy in New York Andriy Yermak the head of Ukraine s presidential office met on Friday in New York with Trump s special envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss preparations for upcoming meetings The key priority is to push forward real diplomacy and ensure the implementation of all the agreements reached at the Washington summit Yermak noted in a social media post We are coordinating our efforts Yermak reported he had briefed Witkoff on Russia s latest attacks on Ukraine and lamented that Putin had shown no willingness to engage in peace efforts despite his meeting with Trump in Alaska this month Unfortunately Russia is failing to fulfill anything necessary to end the war and is clearly dragging out the hostilities Yermak wrote in a lengthy post on X Ukraine supports President Trump s firm resolve as well as that of all partners to achieve a lasting peace as soon as practicable Ukraine welcomes all peace initiatives put forward by the United States But unfortunately each of them is being stalled by Russia Of the meeting a White House official revealed only that Yermak and Sergiy Kyslytsya Ukraine s ambassador extraordinary gave Witkoff a status update on the war and Russia s strikes on Kyiv this week The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity Zelenskyy described reporters in Kyiv that he expected several meetings at different venues with European leaders next week Ukrainian negotiators have been trying to move the peace process forward in talks in Qatar Saudi Arabia Turkey the United Arab Emirates Switzerland and the United States he reported Ukraine has accepted a U S proposal for a ceasefire and a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy but Moscow has raised objections Ukraine wants leaders involved Zelenskyy accused Russia of dragging out negotiations including by putting off a Russia-Ukraine summit with the argument that the groundwork for a doable peace settlement must be thrashed out first by lower agents before leaders meet That reasoning Zelenskyy explained is artificial because they want to show the United States that they are constructive but they are not constructive In my opinion leaders must urgently be involved to reach agreements Zelenskyy added Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday reiterated Moscow s long-held position that Putin doesn t rule out meeting Zelenskyy but only after progress is made at the expert level A summit must be well prepared so that it can finalize the work that must first be carried out at the expert level Peskov narrated reporters during his daily conference call At this point we can t say that the expert work is in full swing so to speak No unfortunately not We maintain our interest and our readiness for these negotiations he announced Zelenskyy says more weapons are crucial for measure Zelenskyy urged swift secondary sanctions on countries that business with Russia and thereby patronage its war economic system He stated the viable postwar guard guarantees being assessed by Western countries to deter another Russian invasion in the future must include a secure supply of weapons for Ukraine either through domestic production or Western provision and U S weapons paid for by Europe Zelenskyy s comments came after the death toll in a major Russian missile and drone strike on the Ukrainian capital rose to including four children bureaucrats stated Friday Ukraine requirements more sophisticated Western air defense systems to counter such attacks Kyiv region observes a day of mourning Administration in the Kyiv region declared Friday an official day of mourning Flags flew at half-staff and all entertainment events were canceled after Russia hammered Ukraine with almost drones and more than missiles overnight from Wednesday to Thursday including rare strikes on downtown Kyiv Rescue workers pulled people from the rubble after the attack among them four children Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko declared The youngest victim was a -year-old girl Particular bodies have yet to be identified and eight people remain unaccounted for personnel disclosed More than people were wounded More diplomatic moves lie ahead Putin is due to attend a meeting in China from Sunday that will also include Iran and North Korea countries that have aided Russia s war effort according to the United States The war in Ukraine is certain to be a top issue at the annual gathering of world leaders at the U N General Assembly from Sept to Sept The Atlantic Council a Washington think tank noted that latest U S presidents have shied away from taking a tougher line with Putin for fear of a anticipated nuclear conflict Putin knows that Washington and its allies have more than enough ceiling to reverse his gains in Ukraine but it is nearly certain that he doubts the United States has the will to do so the Atlantic Council stated in an assessment this week It added that the second Trump administration has repeatedly signaled that the United States has no vital interests at stake in this war Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington and Edith M Lederer at the United Nations contributed Follow AP s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https apnews com hub russia-ukraine
