Star Metro - Trump says will meet with Putin 'very shortly'

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Putin held consultations Friday with the leaders of China and India to seek support ahead of the summit with Trump, who has spent his first months in office trying to broker peace in Ukraine without making a breakthrough.

"I'll be meeting very shortly with President Putin. It would have been sooner, but I guess there's security arrangements that unfortunately people have to make," Trump said at the White House.

The US president also said "there'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" Ukraine and Russia and that the issue would be discussed soon, without providing further details.

The Kremlin said Putin had updated Chinese President Xi Jinping on "the main results of his conversation" with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who visited Moscow earlier this week.

Xi expressed support for a "long-term" solution to the conflict, the Kremlin said.

China's Xinhua state news agency quoted Xi as having told Putin: "China is glad to see Russia and the United States maintain contact, improve their relations, and promote a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis."

Moscow and Beijing have deepened political, economic and military ties since Russia's offensive.

China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in the conflict, never denouncing the offensive or calling for Russia to withdraw.

Putin also spoke by phone to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after both countries condemned new US tariffs over New Delhi's oil purchases from Russia.

"Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine," Modi posted on social media.

- Rounds of unsuccessful talks -

Neither side elaborated on what had been discussed.

Xi and Modi have both tried to tout their own peace initiatives for Ukraine, though they have gained little traction.

Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine have failed to yield a breakthrough and it remains unclear whether a summit would bring peace any closer.

Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.

He has also ruled out holding talks with Volodymyr Zelensky at this stage, a meeting the Ukrainian president says is necessary to make headway on a deal.

Putin has named the United Arab Emirates as a potential location for the talks, but this was not confirmed by Washington.

The summit would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.

Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump's first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said he spoke to Zelensky Friday, a day after he had a call with Putin to discuss "peace process efforts."

The South African government has been criticized at home and abroad for initially refusing to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but has always maintained it holds an unaligned position and in April hosted Zelensky in Pretoria.

Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said Friday that families with children would be evacuated from 19 more villages in the region's east, where Russian forces have been advancing.

The villages, home to hundreds of people, are all within about 20 miles (30 kilometers) of the front line.

P.Lefebvre--SMC