Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sensationally called for a three-way peace summit with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in a bold new push to bring Russia's three-year invasion to a halt.
In remarks that will send shockwaves through diplomatic circles, Zelensky told reporters he is open to 'any format', including a dramatic trilateral meeting with the Russian and US leaders, after the Kremlin flatly refused earlier calls for direct talks.
'If Putin is not comfortable with a bilateral meeting, or if everyone wants it to be a trilateral meeting, I don't mind. I am ready for any format,' Zelensky said in comments to journalists on Tuesday that were published on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian leader said he was 'ready' for a 'Trump-Putin-me' meeting, and also urged Washington to hit Moscow with a package of hard-hitting sanctions on its banking and energy sector.
But the Kremlin has stated the Putin-Zelensky-Tump meeting will only be possible after a 'concrete' Ukraine-Russia agreement has been made.
