Ned Price

And if that works out, then we'll have a trilateral.

But when you look at the substance, President Trump has not moved.

President Putin's positions have remained firm.

And President Trump, despite all the happy talk in the room yesterday, was parroting exactly what President Putin has pushed on him.

Yeah, well, first the short term, and I'll tell you my fear.

My fear is that President Putin is, again, just playing for time.

And his apparent rejection of a trilateral meeting, to me, is a data point.

It's not dispositive, but it is a data point.

that he doesn't intend to meet with President Zelensky, that he is willing to stand up President Zelensky, but he didn't want to also, at the same time, stand up President Trump.

And so by disaggregating them and potentially suggesting, you know, maybe Volodymyr and I will get together first.

And if that goes well, we'll bring you into it.

That's just his stall tactic.

And I would actually be surprised

if a meeting between Ukraine and Russia at the leader level materializes over the coming weeks.

And even Russian media is starting to say the issue was broached as to whether there could be more senior level contacts.

It's very, very noncommittal.

And I don't think that's

a very good sign.

So I think the task that's between Russia and Ukraine, if there's a trilateral following that, great.

I think that will be to certainly Ukraine's benefit and to Europe's benefit.