‘Good prospect': Trump on summit with Putin and Zelenskyy after US envoy Witkoff's Russia visit
A White House official confirmed the development on Wednesday and said President Trump could meet Putin as soon as next week, though the United States is adamant to impose secondary sanctions on Russia on Friday, in order to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
When asked at the White House if Putin and Zelenskyy had agreed to such a summit, Trump said there was a 'very good prospect', but refrained from providing any further details. Such a face to face meeting between the US and Russian president would be first since June 2021 when former President Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva, eight months prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
According to a New York Times report, Trump told European leaders during a call on Wednesday that he intends to meet Putin first and then hold a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy and the Russian president. Putin and Zelenskyy have not met each other since December 2019.
'The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelenskyy,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
The Kremlin earlier issued a statement about the talks between Witkoff and Putin, as a foreign policy aide said the two sides exchanged 'signals' as part of 'constructive' talks in Moscow, BBC reported. The meeting came days before a US sponsored deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine or face secondary sanctions.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy also said that he spoke to the US president about envoy Witkoff's Moscow visit, with European leaders also on the call.
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