Early next week, US President Donald Trump could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, according to a White House official.
Though no date or site has been confirmed, the official told the Associated Press that Trump is open to meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to try to find a settlement to the conflict.
During a news conference, Trump said there was a “very good prospect” of a summit between Putin and Zelensky—their first meeting since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Moreover, it would be the first direct meeting between a sitting US and Russian leader since Biden and Putin met in Geneva in 2021.
Following a visit to Moscow by US envoy Steve Witkoff—who Trump claims made “great progress” in talks with Putin—the possible meeting follows. “Everyone agrees this war must come to a close,” Trump said.
Following the meeting with the envoy, Zelensky verified that he spoke with Trump and noted that Russia looked more amenable to a truce. Russia, however, should not be permitted to “deceive” Ukraine or the US, so he advocated a coordinated stance between Ukraine and its partners.
The New York Times says that in a recent call, European leaders were told of the ceasefire negotiations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned, meanwhile, that “a lot has to happen” before a Trump-Putin meeting may take place. He said coordination with European allies and Ukraine would go on in the next days, and a summit would only take place when it was “productive and worth doing.”
