Gaps already emerging in US and Russian views of potential Trump-Putin summit

CNN

2 days ago

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A day after US President Donald Trump told European leaders he intended to meet soon with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, gaps have emerged in how Washington and Moscow are characterizing a potential summit.
While the Kremlin claimed Thursday a meeting next week was all but agreed to, US officials suggested nothing had been finalized – including the format, date or location for talks.
If the meeting does go ahead, it would be the first held between the leaders of the two countries since 2021, when Putin met former President Joe Biden in Geneva, Switzerland. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
One uncertainty is whether there will be a meeting that includes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump on Thursday said he would not condition a sit-down with Putin on the Russian president also meeting with Ukraine's leader.
Asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins whether Putin must meet with Zelensky before a Trump-Putin summit could proceed, Trump said: 'No, he doesn't (have to).'
'They would like to meet with me, and I'll do whatever I can to stop the killing,' he went on.
Trump had made clear in his phone call Wednesday with the Europeans – which included the British prime minister, German chancellor and Finnish president – that he intended to meet both Putin and Zelensky, who was also on Wednesday's phone call.
He said later Wednesday there was a 'very good prospect' of a summit between all three men – though he added that he had been 'disappointed' by the Russian president in the past.
But on Thursday, even as the Kremlin said preparations were underway for a Trump-Putin meeting that could take place as early as next week, the Russian leader sounded cool to the idea of meeting Zelensky, saying certain conditions would first need to be met.
Zelensky, for his part, has insisted on a trilateral meeting, saying in his nightly address Thursday that 'everyone knows that key decisions in Russia are made by one person. And that this person is afraid of sanctions from the United States of America … it is only fair that Ukraine should be a participant in the negotiations.'
Differences have also emerged over who proposed the meeting.
The White House said it was the Russians who 'expressed their desire' to meet Trump. However, Ushakov claimed it came 'at the suggestion of the American side.'
Putin suggested it didn't matter. 'Who was the first to say and what, it doesn't matter anymore,' he said.
As of Thursday, no location had been set for the talks, though Putin said the United Arab Emirates would be a 'perfect' option as he was meeting with the leader of the Gulf nation, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Moscow.
Other locations in the Middle East have also been under discussion, people familiar with the matter said. One European diplomat said it was unlikely a meeting would occur in Europe, since Putin wouldn't view a country there as neutral ground.
The idea of a Putin-Trump meeting emerged after Witkoff met Putin for three hours in Moscow on Wednesday. Following the meeting, Trump said there had not been a 'breakthrough' between the two men and was also cautious when questioned about the timeline for a deal, saying he has 'been disappointed before with this one,' in reference to the Russian president.
The Witkoff-Putin meeting, which saw the US envoy visit Russia for the fifth time this year, came after a frustrated Trump imposed a deadline on Moscow, which is due to expire on Friday, to agree to a ceasefire or face tough secondary sanctions, hitting countries that buy Russian oil with a 100% tariff. Just hours after the meeting, the US leader announced an additional 25% tariff on India as punishment for its imports of Russian oil.
Pressed on Thursday over whether his deadline to Putin still stood, Trump said, 'It's going to be up to him. We're going to see what he has to say. It's going to be up to him. Very disappointed.'
Trump has been attempting to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine since taking office in January, having initially claimed he could end the war within 24 hours.
In the many months since, there has been little progress, with Russia insisting that it wants peace while simultaneously ramping up the scale of its attacks on Ukraine.
Critics have suggested Putin's actions in recent months have been attempts to stall proceedings and buy time for his troops to gain further ground on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly expressed his growing frustration that Putin says one thing, but then does another.
'We had a deal done four times and then you go home and you see (that Russia) just attacked a nursing home or something in Kyiv. So what the hell was that all about?' the US leader said in an interview with the BBC last month.
Zelensky, who spoke to Trump following Wednesday's meeting between Putin and Witkoff, said Wednesday that 'it seems that Russia is now more inclined toward (a) ceasefire.'
'The pressure on Russia is working. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details. Neither us, nor the United States,' the Ukrainian leader said during his nightly video address to the nation.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN's Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Svitlana Vlasova, Kylie Atwood, and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.