The announcement of the Polish prime minister after discussing with Zelenski. Tusk, about the possibility of a break in the Ukraine War
Donald Tusk. Photo credit: SOPA IMAGES LIMITED / ALAMY / Profimedia
A break in the Ukraine war could be close, said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday, while the White House and the Kremlin go forward with discussions for a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the coming days, The Guardian reported.
The Polish official made these statements after talking to the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, who spoke in recent days with Trump and several European leaders, as the White House continues to try to intermediate the war launched by Russia three and a half years ago.
“There are certain signals and we also have an intuition that a conflict frost-I don't mean the end, but a conflict freezing-it's closer than it seems,” Tusk said in a press conference. “There are hopes for this,” added Poland Prime Minister.
Tusk said Zelenski was “very cautious, but optimistic” about an armistice, notes Reuters. According to the Polish leader, Ukraine wants Poland and other European countries to play a role in planning an armistice and possible peace solution.
Discussions for a Trump-Putin summit next week
Trump said he was willing to have a 1 to 1 meeting with Putin without preconceptions, as well as to participate in direct negotiations between the Russian and the Ukrainian president.
Bloomberg reported on Friday that the agreement could strengthen some of Russia's territorial earnings in Ukraine, actually freezing the battle lines in the Herson and Zaporation regions. Putin has claimed four Ukrainian regions as a whole, although much of their territory is still under Ukrainian control.
US and Russian officials worked on an agreement on which Russia stops the offensive in exchange for territorial concessions – which makes the proposal arouse tensions in Ukraine, Bloomberg said.
Zelenski responded by discussing several European leaders, including the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, who are key intermediaries in the Trump dialogue.
Fox News reported on Friday that the meeting could take place at the end of next week. Potential locations include Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and the United Arab Emirates, say the conservative journalists.
Switzerland and Italy are a state at the International Criminal Court (CPI), who issued an arrest warrant on behalf of Vladimir Putin, and the authorities in the two countries would be, in theory, forced to arrest the Russian president. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced withdrawal plans from the CPI earlier this year.
