The Kremlin said Thursday that a summit among Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was set for the “next few days”, and the two parties already agreed the “in principle” place.
The summit would be the first among the presidents of the United States and the United States since Joe Biden met with Putin in Geneva in June 2021, and arrives when Trump seeks to negotiate the end of Russia’s military assault against Ukraine.
Three rounds of direct conversations between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to produce any progress towards a fire, and the two parties appear very separate in their demands to end the conflict of more than three years.
Trump said Wednesday that he would probably meet Putin face to face “very soon.”
“A bilateral summit in the next few days has reached the suggestion of the American side, Yuri Ushakov, Yuri Ushakov, the Russian state news agencies, said on Thursday.
“Now we are beginning to solve the details along with our American colleagues,” said Ushakov.
The Kremlin said that a “in principle” place had been agreed, but did not indicate where the summit could take place.
“Next week it has been established as an objective date,” added Ushakov.
Zelensky calls the meeting
Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia launched their military offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian bombings have forced millions to flee their homes and destroy strips from the east and southern Ukraine.
Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a high fire.
In the conversations in Istanbul, Russian negotiators have outlined territorial demands of a hard line if Ukraine wants Russia to stop their progress, asking kyiv to withdraw from the territory that still controls and renounces Western military support.
Moscow has also repeatedly tried to question Zelensky’s legitimacy and ruled out a meeting between the two leaders until after the terms of a peace agreement have been agreed.
The announcement of the next summit comes a day after the envoy of us, Steve Witkoff, met Putin in Moscow.
Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but Russia did not respond to that proposal, Ushakov said.
“The Russian side left this option completely without comments,” he added.
On Thursday, Zelensky had refreshed his call to a meeting with Putin, which according to him is the only way to move towards peace.
“In Ukraine we have repeatedly said that finding real solutions can be really effective at the level of leaders,” Zelensky wrote on social networks.
“It is necessary to determine the moment for this format and the range of problems to address,” he added.
The Ukrainian leader said Thursday morning that he had planned to celebrate “several” conversations throughout the day, even with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as French and Italian officials.
“There will also be communication at the level of national security advisors,” Zelensky added.
“The main thing is for Russia, which began this war, to take real measures to end its aggression,” Zelensky added.
