Zelensky says he will only meet Putin after Kyiv has ‘common plan’ with US and Europe

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would only meet Vladimir Putin once Kyiv developed “a common plan” with Washington and Europe to end the war in Ukraine, he said at a Munich Security Conference panel discussion with US senators on Friday ahead of scheduled talks with US Vice President JD Vance.

“I will meet with Russians — with only one Russian guy, with Putin — only after we will have a common plan with Trump, Europe,” Zelensky said.

When asked whether he felt US President Donald Trump was “really committed” to Ukraine when it came to securing peace, Zelensky said he “counted” on Trump, whom he called “a strong man”, to “push Putin to stop the war”.

While Zelensky said he would soon travel to the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, he said he had no plans at present to meet with either the Russians or the Americans while there, despite Trump saying on Thursday that talks between Russian and US “top officials” would be held in Saudi Arabia next week and that “Ukraine will be a part of it too”.

Zelensky is expected to meet with US Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference on Friday as Kyiv and Europe continue to grapple with Trump’s surprise announcement on Wednesday that he and Putin had agreed to start negotiations “immediately” on ending the war in Ukraine.