Face To Face: Trump Open to Meeting Both Putin and Zelensky to End War
This would mark President Trump's first face-to-face meeting with Putin since returning to the White House in January.
The idea of the summit reportedly came up during a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to a senior Ukrainian official, the call also included NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Finland.
'The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the president is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky,' said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. 'President Trump wants this brutal war to end.'
According to reports from The New York Times and CNN, Trump is aiming to meet Putin as early as next week and hopes to follow it up with a three-way meeting involving both the Russian and Ukrainian presidents.
However, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that a Trump-Putin meeting is not yet confirmed. 'There's no scheduled call between the two leaders at this point,' he told reporters, as quoted by Reuters.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to be helping mediate between Trump and Putin, in hopes of reducing tensions. Israel's public broadcaster, Kan, cited a source close to Netanyahu who confirmed his involvement.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, held talks with Russian officials in Moscow. The Kremlin called the discussions 'productive.'
President Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social: 'Great progress was made!' He added that he had briefed some European allies after the talks.
The potential summit comes as Trump approaches a deadline to decide on fresh sanctions against Russia over its ongoing war in Ukraine.
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