Davos [Switzerland], January 22 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Thursday held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with the war in Ukraine remaining a key focus of discussions at the summit.
According to CNN, the meeting concluded after lasting around an hour. The Ukrainian Presidency had earlier said the talks between the two leaders were underway in Davos, before later confirming the meeting had ended.
After the closed-door interaction, Zelenskyy’s communications advisor said he had a “good meeting” with Trump in Davos on Thursday.
Trump later told reporters the meeting had gone well but said there is still “a ways to go” toward ending the war with Russia. “The war has to end,” he said as he emerged from the meeting with Zelenskyy. “We hope it’s going to end. There are a lot of people being killed.”
The meeting took place amid indications that efforts to end the conflict are reaching a critical phase. Negotiations aimed at ending the conflict were “down to one issue,” US envoy Steve Witkoff said, according to CNN. A European official separately confirmed to the network that the issue was related to territory.
With the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting concluding, attention is now set to shift to the next steps in the diplomatic process. Trump officials are expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next as part of efforts to broker a ceasefire agreement. “It’s an ongoing process,” Trump said. “Everybody wants to have the war end.”
Alongside these talks on Ukraine, Trump also used the Davos platform to formally launch his “Board of Peace” initiative, signing the charter for the new body at the World Economic Forum and describing it as a major step towards global conflict resolution.
Calling it a “very exciting day, long in the making”, Trump said, “We’re going to have peace in the world,” and added, “And we’re all stars.”
In his opening remarks, Trump said, “Just one year ago the world was actually on fire, a lot of people didn’t know it,” but claimed “many good things are happening” and threats worldwide “are really calming down.”
Linking the initiative to ongoing diplomatic engagements, Trump said his administration was “settling eight wars” and claimed that “a lot of progress” had been made towards ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Trump said, “We have a lot of great people that want to join,” and defended the inclusion of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and other leaders, saying he wanted “everybody” who was powerful and could “get the job done.”
Trump also linked the initiative to his approach on Iran and claimed it played a role in securing the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. “If we didn’t do that, there was no chance of making peace,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy’s presence in Davos came as Trump voiced frustration over the prolonged conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “I believe they’re at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done,” Trump said. “And if they don’t, they’re stupid — that goes for both of them.” (ANI)