LONDON, August 14. /TASS/. Western leaders are actively considering the possibility of organizing a trilateral summit involving Russia, the US, and Ukraine in a European city if the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump is successful, the Sky News TV channel reported, citing EU sources.
According to the channel, the allies agree that "it should be Europe." Sky News recalled that Vladimir Zelensky proposed Rome as the venue for the meeting, but the sources told the TV channel that France, Finland, Spain, and Germany have spoken out in favor of a more neutral venue, such as Geneva.
The day before, Reuters reported, citing sources, that the Middle East is also being considered as a venue for the summit.
On August 8, Trump announced that he was looking forward to meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15. The plans for the talks were then confirmed by Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov. According to him, the leaders will focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. The Kremlin expects the next meeting between Putin and Trump to take place on Russian territory, Ushakov added.
Following a meeting in the Kremlin with the UAE leader on August 7, the Russian president said that he was open to meeting with Zelensky, but that the conditions for such a meeting needed to be created. "Unfortunately, we are still a long way from creating such conditions," he added.
The Kremlin has repeatedly emphasized that a lot of preparatory work needs to be done before Putin and Zelensky can meet. Meanwhile, Kiev is insisting on such a meeting without a clear agenda. According to Ushakov, the US mentioned the possibility of a trilateral meeting between Putin, Zelensky, and Trump. However, Moscow declined to comment on this possibility and called for a focus on the bilateral summit between Russia and the US.