KYIEV, Oct 20 (The African Portal) – President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would be ready to join Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump at their summit in Hungary if he is invited.
Trump and Putin said they would meet in the Hungarian capital, possibly in a matter of weeks, as the US leader continues to try to broker a peace deal to end the three-and-a-half-year war, triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
“If I am invited to Budapest—if it is an invitation in a format where we meet as three or, as it’s called, shuttle diplomacy, President Trump meets with Putin and President Trump meets with me—then in one format or another, we will agree,” Zelensky told reporters in remarks released on Monday.
‘Another Budapest scenario’?
The Ukrainian president criticised the choice of Hungary, which has a tense relationship with Kyiv and is seen as the most Kremlin-sympathetic member of the European Union.
“I do not believe that a prime minister who blocks Ukraine everywhere can do anything positive for Ukrainians or even provide a balanced contribution,” Zelensky said, referring to Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.
Kyiv has said it is ready to join a three-way meeting between Zelensky, Putin and Trump in a number of neutral countries, including Turkey, Switzerland and the Vatican.
In 1994, Moscow signed a memorandum in Budapest aimed at ensuring security for Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan in exchange for them giving up numerous nuclear weapons left from the Soviet era.
“Another ‘Budapest’ scenario wouldn’t be positive either,” Zelensky said.
Trump has been aiming for a speedy end to the years-long conflict in Ukraine since he returned to White House earlier this year, pushing for a series of direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials and hosting Putin for a summit in Alaska—diplomatic efforts that have ultimately not led to any breakthrough.
Gearing up with Patriots
In a separate announcement, Zelensky said his country is preparing a contract to buy 25 Patriot air defence systems.
The procurement would be a huge boost for Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s aerial bombardments.
In comments to media at a meeting on Sunday, Zelensky said the systems would be supplied every year for a number of years, and that Ukraine would seek for some European nations to give Kyiv priority in the queue for the systems.
Credit: FRANCE 24
