Following the largely fruitless meeting between representatives of Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, US President Donald Trump apparently wants to take matters into his own hands:

He said that a personal conversation with Vladimir Putin was the only way to make progress. Meanwhile, the EU has already announced further sanctions against Moscow. The backdrop to this is the ongoing attacks on Ukraine and an explosive incident in the northeast of the country.

According to Ukrainian sources, at least eight people were killed in a Russian attack on a civilian bus in the Sumy region. Other passengers were injured. This was reported by regional military chief Ihor Tkachenko on Telegram. Rescue workers and doctors are on the scene.

Trump: “I want to meet Putin in person”

In an interview with Fox News, Trump emphasized that a personal meeting with the Russian president was “probably planned.” He said he was tired of “other people traveling back and forth” without achieving results. “I think we will find an agreement,” Trump said.

The interview was recorded during his stay in the Middle East. The former president had returned to Washington after visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Already on board Air Force One, he had announced his intention to call Putin “as soon as we can arrange it.” Despite all the tensions, the meeting between Ukraine and Russia had brought a small diplomatic success: both sides agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners in the coming days. However, Russian President Putin did not personally take part in the talks in Istanbul. Expectations for the meeting were correspondingly low.

Image: APA