Germany's Merz says Putin, Zelenskiy to meet within next two weeks

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would meet within weeks.

This meeting, to which Putin agreed to during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, would take place at a yet-to-be-determined location, the German chancellor said.

"The American president spoke with the Russian president on the phone and agreed that there would be a meeting between the Russian president and the Ukrainian president within the next two weeks," he told reporters.

Trump had agreed to extend another invitation to a three-way meeting afterward, so that negotiations could truly begin, added Merz.