Trump could start dialogue with President Putin about Ukraine without intermediaries

TASS news agency reported on July 16 that, according to a private source, a senior Republican official attending the party's national convention in Milwaukee said that presidential candidate Donald Trump would be ready to engage in dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin to resolve the conflict in Ukraine without any mediators.

“There is no doubt he will start a dialogue with Putin. And he will do it without intermediaries,” the senior Republican said, responding to a question about Trump’s willingness to engage in dialogue with Putin about Ukraine.

“Right now the Democrats are not negotiating with Russia,” the official added. “Of course, someone has to start negotiations so that Russia and Ukraine can come to some sort of agreement,” and that person would be Mr. Trump.

Senior Republican officials expressed confidence that NATO should not be present in Ukraine, and that the conflict would be resolved through negotiations.

“NATO doesn’t need to be in Ukraine. We need dialogue and if it starts, we can all come to an agreement on how to resolve the conflict in Ukraine,” the Republican official said.

On July 15, the Strana (Ukraine) publication quoted President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying that the Ukrainian leader believes that Russian representatives should be present at the second summit. According to Mr. Zelensky, this conference is scheduled to be held next November.

Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov stressed that Russia remains ready for any dialogue on Ukraine, including with the participation of mediators, but Moscow must achieve its goals.

On June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a meeting with the leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, outlined the conditions for resolving the situation in Ukraine. These included the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbas and Novorossiya; Kiev refusing to join NATO; and establishing a neutral, non-aligned status.