Kirill Dmitriev has praised the US president for seeking peace and voiced optimism before White House talks with Zelensky and European leaders

US President Donald Trump and his team are seeking an actual solution to the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev has said.

His comment came ahead of Monday's White House meeting between Trump, Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, and several European leaders.

Trump has described the upcoming talks as a "big day," saying he has "never had so many European leaders at one time." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and the heads of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and other EU institutions are expected to join Zelensky in Washington.

On X, Dmitriev praised Trump for "pushing for the real solution" to the conflict and voiced hope that "problem solving and peace prevail during the Big Day."

The envoy was part of the Russian delegation at last week's Alaska summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which both sides described as substantive and warm. Following the talks, Trump said he favored a permanent peace deal rather than a ceasefire. Moscow has long opposed short-term truces, arguing they could be exploited by Kiev to regroup and rearm.

The German outlet Bild reported that Trump's shift has "thwarted" Kiev's backers who have insisted that a ceasefire should come first. Dmitriev said over the weekend that this group was "in full panic mode" at the prospect of closer US-Russian cooperation on a settlement. He also noted Bild's suggestion that Western European leaders were accompanying Zelensky to Washington in order to prevent a repeat of his heated clash with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance during his February visit.

Putin has reiterated that any lasting settlement must eliminate the root causes of the conflict, address Russia's security concerns, and recognize current territorial realities. Washington has echoed the view that a sustainable peace, rather than a temporary truce, is essential. Zelensky, meanwhile, has continued to insist on a ceasefire as a prerequisite for talks and has ruled out any land swaps, citing Ukraine's constitution.

(RT.com)