"There's a good chance it will happen very soon," US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on 6/8, when asked when he would meet with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.
Trump did not disclose the time or location of the meeting, but US media, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that the president plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week and then wants to hold a trilateral meeting with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents.
An unnamed White House official also offered similar information.
When asked about this possibility, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Russia had expressed to President Trump its desire for a meeting, and the president "is ready to meet with both Mr. Putin and Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky".
Russia has not yet commented on the information from the US side.
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US President Donald Trump (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP |
US President Donald Trump (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP
Plans for the summit were also discussed in a phone call between Trump and Zelensky on 6/8. A senior source in Kyiv said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the leaders of the UK, Germany, and Finland participated in the call.
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on 6/8 and held talks with President Putin for about three hours. The Kremlin described the talks as "useful and constructive," focusing on the conflict in Ukraine and the potential for improving US-Russia relations.
President Trump posted on social media that the two sides "made great progress" and that he had briefed some European allies on the talks. "Everyone agrees this war must end, and we will be working toward that goal in the coming days and weeks," he said.
However, minutes later, a senior US official said Washington would still impose secondary sanctions on key Russian trading partners on 8/8, according to an ultimatum Trump issued in July.
Since taking office in January, Trump has reopened high-level diplomatic channels with Russia, reversing the approach of the previous administration. Washington argues that cooperation between the two nuclear superpowers is essential and can bring mutual benefits.
However, Washington-Moscow relations have become increasingly strained as President Trump repeatedly warned of sanctions if Russia does not reach a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine by 8/8. Three rounds of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey since the beginning of the year have failed to make any progress on a ceasefire, due to the vastly different positions of the two sides.
The most recent face-to-face meeting between a US president and a Russian president took place in 6/2021, when Putin met with Joe Biden in Geneva, Switzerland. The Kremlin leader and the Ukrainian president have not met since 12/2019 and have repeatedly attacked and criticized each other.
Huyen Le (According to AFP, Reuters)
