Venue to be announced later; no guarantee meeting would end war, as Russia’s and Ukraine’s demands are poles apart; Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two sides are working on setting up a meeting
President Putin offers a ball of the 2018 football World Cup to President Trump in Helsinki. File pic/AFP
The Kremlin said on Thursday that a meeting in the coming days between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump has been agreed on, as a new Gallup poll found that Ukrainians are increasingly eager for a settlement that ends the fight against Russia’s invasion.
Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two sides are working on setting up a meeting, and that a venue for the meeting has been agreed on and will be announced later.
A meeting between Putin and Trump would be their first since Trump returned to office this year, though there’s no promise it would lead to the end of the fighting, since Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on their demands.
Eager to end fighting
Gallup has found support for continuing the war is declining in Ukraine. Most Ukrainians do not expect a lasting peace anytime soon, a poll found. About a quarter say it’s likely fighting will end within the next 12 months, while about 7 in 10 think it’s “very unlikely” that active fighting will be over in the next year.
Changing of views
Ukrainian views of the American government have cratered over the past few years, while positive views of Germany’s leadership have risen. Three years ago, about two-thirds of Ukrainians approved of US leadership. That’s since fallen to 16 per cent in the latest poll, reflecting new tensions since Trump took office. In contrast, Germany has grown more popular among Ukrainians over the past few years, rising to 63 per cent.
Hope to join NATO, EU fallen
Ukrainians are less optimistic that their country will be accepted into NATO or the European Union in the next decade. About a third expect Ukraine will be accepted into NATO in the next 10 years, while about a quarter think it will take at least 10 years, and a third believe it will never happen. Hope for acceptance into the EU is higher but has also fallen, with about 52 per cent expecting to be part of the EU in the next decade, down from 73 per cent in 2022.
16%
No. of Ukrainians who approve US leadership
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