Zelensky says ready to join Putin-Trump summit if invited

KUALA LUMPUR: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he is prepared to join a proposed summit in Hungary between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, provided he receives an invitation.

Trump and Putin have signaled they will meet in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, possibly in a matter of weeks. The potential three-way talks are part of a renewed diplomatic push by the U.S. leader to broker an end to the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict.

“If I am invited to Budapest, if it is an invitation in a format where we meet as three or, as it’s called, shuttle diplomacy, President Trump meets with Putin and President Trump meets with me, then in one format or another, we will agree,” Zelensky told reporters in remarks released Monday.

Despite his willingness to attend, the Ukrainian president openly criticized the choice of Hungary as a venue. Kyiv has a strained relationship with Budapest, and Hungary is widely regarded as the European Union’s most Kremlin-sympathetic member state.

“I do not believe that a prime minister who blocks Ukraine everywhere can do anything positive for Ukrainians or even provide a balanced contribution,” Zelensky said, referring to Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.

He suggested for the meeting to be held at neutral location, naming Turkey, Switzerland, and the Vatican as suggestions.

In a separate announcement, Zelensky revealed that Ukraine is preparing a contract with the United States to purchase 25 Patriot air defense systems.

The procurement, which would be a significant boost to Ukraine’s defenses against, is expected to be supplied gradually over a number of years. Zelensky noted that Ukraine would seek for some European nations to grant Kyiv priority in the production queue for the systems.