Russian President Vladimir Putin avoids meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky because he "doesn't like him."

This was stated by US President Donald Trump, according to the Kiev Independent.

Trump met separately with Putin and Zelensky this month as part of his efforts to broker peace, but no breakthrough was achieved and Russia continued to strike Ukrainian cities.

"Every conversation I have with him is a good conversation," the US president told reporters in the Oval Office. "And then, unfortunately, a bomb is dropped on Kiev or somewhere else, and then I get very angry about it. I think we're going to end the war. It's difficult... Strange things happen during war." 

During his speech on August 25, Trump made contradictory statements about the possibility of ending Russia's war against Ukraine. He said he intended to organize a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, but then added that it might not happen.

"They really don't like each other. To be honest, I thought it would be easiest with Russia and Ukraine. But it turned out that there are major conflicts between the personalities," the Republican added.

Trump met with Zelensky at the White House on August 18, three days after his first meeting with Putin in Alaska. After the meeting, the Ukrainian president said that Kiev was ready to hold unconditional negotiations with Moscow.

The Ukrainian leader said that peace talks should address the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia, the return of occupied territories, and funding to support Ukraine's military efforts. 

Zelensky noted that more than 30 countries, including European countries, Canada, and Japan, are ready to support Ukraine's security guarantees. Some of them have expressed their readiness to provide peacekeeping forces, intelligence information, and air defense support. | BGNES