Trump and Putin will meet in the ‘coming days'
"At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement has been reached in principle to hold a bilateral summit in the coming days," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying on Thursday by Russian state news agencies.
"We are now starting to work out the details together with our American colleagues," Ushakov said.
The Kremlin said a venue had been agreed "in principle", but did not indicate where the summit could take place.
"Next week has been set as a target date," Ushakov added.
Zelenskyy calls for meeting
Russian bombardments have forced millions to flee their homes and destroyed swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine.
Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.
At talks in Istanbul, Russian negotiators have outlined hardline territorial demands if Ukraine wants Russia to halt its advance – calling for Kyiv to withdraw from territory it still controls and renounce Western military support.
Moscow has also repeatedly sought to cast doubt on Zelenskyy's legitimacy and ruled out a meeting between the two leaders until after the terms of a peace deal have been agreed.
The announcement of the upcoming summit comes a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow.
Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but Russia did not respond to that proposal, Ushakov said.
"The Russian side left this option completely without comment," he added.
Zelenskyy earlier Thursday had refreshed his call for a meeting with Putin – which he says is the only way to make progress towards peace.
"We in Ukraine have repeatedly said that finding real solutions can be truly effective at the level of leaders," Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
"It is necessary to determine the timing for such a format and the range of issues to be addressed," he added.
The Ukrainian leader said Thursday morning that he had planned to hold "several" conversations throughout the course of the day, including with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as French and Italian officials.
"There will also be communication at the level of national security advisors," Zelenskyy added.
"The main thing is for Russia, which started this war, to take real steps to end its aggression," Zelenskyy added.
Trump wants end to Russia's war in Ukraine by 8 August, US tells UN
Earlier this week, Trump said that he was reducing the 50-day deadline he gave Russia over its war in Ukraine to "10 or 12" days
(vib)
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