According to reports from the Associated Press, senior U.S. administration is preparing to meet Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference this Friday.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are set to sit down with Zelensky to discuss Donald Trump’s push to see negotiations begin between Ukraine and Russia with an aim to put an end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
The U.S. State Department announced Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, will also visit Ukraine as part of a European tour.
It's Vance’s first international visit since becoming vice president last month, where he will visit France and Germany over five days.
On Thursday, Vance visited the Dachau concentration camp memorial ahead of the planned discussions.
“I’ve read a lot about the Holocaust in books,” Vance said. “But being here, and seeing it up close in person, really drives home what unspeakable evil was committed and why we should be committed to ensuring that it never happens again.“
Joe Biden and Mike Pence also visited the memorial during their time in office.
This comes as President Trump spoke separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky over the phone on Wednesday.
He described his conversation with Putin as ‘lengthy and highly productive’ in a post to Truth Social and then spoke with Zelensky about the common goal of peace among the leaders.
“It is time to stop this ridiculous War, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!” Trump posted.
Zelensky said he had a “meaningful conversation” with the U.S. leader.
“We long talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together at the team level,” he said on X, adding he is “grateful to President Trump for his interest in what we can accomplish together”.
