People in Russia and Ukraine on Friday hoped for progress but anticipated no major breakthrough on ending their war at an upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders agreed in a phone call Thursday to meet in Budapest, Hungary, in the coming weeks, according to Trump, who was scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House later Friday.
“When (Trump and Putin) meet, I don’t think anything will be achieved quickly,” 36-year-old Moscow resident Artyom Kondratov told The Associated Press.
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At a previous Trump-Putin summit in Alaska in August, Putin didn’t budge from his demands and has raised objections about some key aspects of U.S.-led peace efforts. Three rounds of direct peace talks in Istanbul yielded no major breakthroughs.
“There will be some progress (in Hungary), yes, again, regarding prisoner exchanges and the return of children from both sides, but I’m sure there won’t be any concrete action in the coming days,” Kondratov said.
Another Moscow resident, 58-year-old Alexander Fedotov, reckoned Trump’s peacemaking efforts could bear fruit.
“Trump isn’t going to Europe for nothing. It’s a big trip for him after all,” he said. “I think there will be progress.”
More than three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor began and more than 10 years after it seized Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, many are weary of the war.
“I wish everyone well and peace. We’re all waiting for this, all Russians want it,” 55-year-old Svetlana, who didn’t give her last name, said in Sevastopol, Crimea’s largest city.
The mood in Kyiv was less hopeful.
“There are no expectations from any of these meetings, because the previous meetings showed that they are not productive,” Marichka Fartushna, an army medic, told the AP.
“Trump has clearly shown his position. He is not for Ukraine,” she said.
Ukrainian veteran Ivan Balatskyi said that amid the intense diplomatic maneuvering he expects the U.S. to stand by Ukraine.
“We showed the whole world that we can fight and we are ready to fight until the end,” he said. “And we expect support from our friends, Americans, from the American people.”
