US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet “in the coming days” at a location that both parties have agreed upon “in principle,” though the venue has not yet been made public, reports RTE.
“At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement has been reached in principle to hold a bilateral summit in the coming days,” Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by the state-run RIA news outlet, reports RTE.
He noted that while the location for the summit has been decided, it will be disclosed at a later time.
President Putin had a scheduled meeting with the president of the United Arab Emirates, a country that has previously been speculated as a potential location for the summit, reports RTE.
President Trump had earlier warned that Russia and nations purchasing its exports could face additional sanctions if a deal isn’t achieved.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had urged a direct meeting with President Putin to help bring the war to an end, following talks between Mr. Trump’s special envoy and the Russian leader in Moscow, reports RTE.
Nevertheless, according to state media, the Kremlin said it did not reply to a US proposal that included a three-way meeting involving Trump, Putin, and Zelensky.
“At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was essentially reached to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days, that is, a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump,” Mr Ushakov stated, reports RTE.
“We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues,” he was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency, reports RTE.
Since then, Mr Zelensky has advocated for Europe’s involvement in any future peace negotiations.
“The war is happening in Europe, and Ukraine is an integral part of Europe – we are already in negotiations on EU accession. Therefore, Europe must be a participant in the relevant processes,” Mr Zelensky said on social media, reports RTE.
Just a day before, Mr Trump praised discussions between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Putin as “highly productive”, though American officials reiterated their intention to enforce sanctions on countries trading with Russia.
Mr Zelensky later shared that he had a phone call with Mr Trump, who indicated that a meeting with President Putin could happen “very soon”.
“We in Ukraine have repeatedly said that finding real solutions can be truly effective at the level of leaders,” Mr Zelensky posted on social media, reports RTE.
“It is necessary to determine the timing for such a format and the range of issues to be addressed,” he continued, reports RTE.
Zelensky also mentioned that he had scheduled “several” discussions throughout the day, including with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and leaders from France and Italy.
“There will also be communication at the level of national security advisors,” Mr Zelensky added, reports RTE.
“The main thing is for Russia, which started this war, to take real steps to end its aggression,” Mr Zelensky added, reports RTE.
According to a senior Ukrainian source, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte joined a call last night between Zelensky and Trump, along with the leaders of Britain, Germany, and Finland.
The source told AFP that the call included Mr Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in addition to Mr Rutte, reports RTE.
“There’s a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about a potential meeting with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders, reports RTE.
He did not reveal the location for the meeting with Putin, which would mark the first leadership summit between the US and Russia since former President Joe Biden met his counterpart in Geneva in June 2021.
“Great progress was made!” Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that he had subsequently briefed certain European allies, reports RTE.
“Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,” he said, reports RTE.
However, shortly after, a senior US official confirmed that “secondary sanctions” were still scheduled to be enforced within two days.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned that Mr Witkoff was returning with a ceasefire plan proposed by Moscow, which would need further discussion with Ukraine and US allies in Europe, reports RTE.
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