Russian President Vladimir Putin is convinced that there are chances to achieve peace in Ukraine through diplomatic means, but this must be agreed upon directly by the warring parties, while other countries should support this process. A number of statements regarding the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine were made by the Russian leader on Thursday, September 3, at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF). "Russia and Ukraine must primarily agree among themselves. All other countries are ready to support and help. […] This is the right approach. But we are grateful to everyone who is trying to contribute to the resolution of this issue. Are there chances? In my opinion, yes, there are," said Putin. He also stated that contacts between Moscow and Kyiv are maintained through intelligence agencies, but he could not say how much this could contribute to achieving peace. At the same time, Putin mentioned Ukraine's attacks on transport vessels in the Black Sea and Kyiv's statements about the insecurity of Russian airspace - according to the President of the Russian Federation, such factors "complicate the possibilities for conducting bilateral peace negotiations." ## ## Zelensky: We expect the resumption of negotiations with the mediation of the US Later that same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about the prospects for resuming negotiations with Russia. According to him, representatives of the United States will visit Kyiv and Moscow soon, during which possible peace agreements will be discussed. "There are preliminary dates. We expect that representatives of the US President will come here, to Kyiv. There is already confirmation from them: there will be a meeting both in Moscow and in Kyiv," Zelensky said in his daily evening video address to Ukrainians. He added that Ukraine is in constant contact with the American team. A few days earlier, Zelensky reported on a phone conversation with President Donald Trump's special envoys Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in which he told the US representatives that Russia's successes on the battlefield are "insignificant." ## ## Trump is ready to meet with Putin only when he is ready for peace Discussion of the possibility of negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine for peace resumed shortly after the unannounced visit of CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow at the end of August. According to Axios, a representative of the Trump administration suggested to the Russian side the idea of a trilateral meeting of the presidents of the US, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine to discuss ending the war through diplomacy. After media publications, Donald Trump rejected the idea of holding a trilateral summit in the near future during a conversation with journalists. According to the American leader, Putin would agree to such a meeting if Trump wanted it, and Washington could organize the summit "immediately." "But I want to hold the meeting when we are ready to conclude a peace agreement," emphasized the head of the White House. Trump also added that "Putin and Zelensky should end this stupid war," again placing the blame for the ongoing hostilities on both Moscow and Kyiv. In Trump's opinion, the personal enmity between Zelensky and Putin is a problem on the path to peace in Ukraine, which is why the conflict, which the US president promised to "end in a day," turned out to be more complicated than "eight wars" that, as Trump claims, he managed to stop in less than two years in power.
