Harris says she would not meet with Putin without Ukraine

US Vice President Kamala Harris has said that she would not agree to a bilateral meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to talk about his war against Ukraine.

Harris stated in an interview with CBS News that she would not engage in negotiations with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin to end the war without Ukraine being included in the discussions.

"Ukraine must have a say in the future of Ukraine," she said.

She also emphasised that the US now supports Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russian aggression.

"Donald Trump, if he were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now. Let's be clear about that. He talks about, 'Oh, he can end it on Day One.' You know what that is? It's about surrender," Harris said.

Asked about Ukraine's possible membership in NATO, the US vice president said that these are issues that will be addressed if and when it comes to that.

Harris' rival in the presidential race, Donald Trump, said after his meeting with Zelenskyy that he favoured a "just" peace for Ukraine but refrained from being specific about what kind of agreement to end the war between Russia and Ukraine he would consider fair.

Prior to the talks, Trump praised Zelenskyy's handling of the attempted impeachment by Democrats in Congress and said they had a "great relationship". However, he immediately said the same about his relationship with Russia's leader and reiterated his confidence that he could quickly stop the war.