United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are preparing to meet “in the coming days”, a Kremlin official has said, as a US deadline approaches for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in its war on Ukraine or face economic penalties.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday that a Trump-Putin meeting could happen as early as next week. A location has been chosen, he added, though it would be revealed at a later stage.
“At the request of the American side, both parties have effectively agreed to hold a high-level bilateral meeting in the coming days,” Ushakov told reporters.
Later on Thursday, Putin named the United Arab Emirates as one of the possible venues for a meeting with Trump, calling it a “suitable” location for high-level talks.
Putin also addressed the possibility of meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he was not “on the whole” opposed to the idea.
However, he noted that “certain conditions should be created” before such a meeting could take place, adding that the current circumstances were “far” from ready.
Speaking with reporters in the White House on Thursday afternoon, Trump, for his part, said that Putin did not have to agree to meet Zelenskyy to have a meeting with him.
Ushakov said the prospect of a three-way summit came up during talks in Moscow with Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, who met Putin for the fifth time earlier this week. Russia offered no official comment on the potential trilateral meeting.
Zelenskyy signalled support for such a summit, writing on X that “Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side”. He added that discussions had included “two bilateral and one trilateral” format, insisting Europe must be involved in efforts to end the war.
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, said there are growing fears in Ukraine over the Trump-Putin meeting, especially since Zelenskyy is not expected to take part in the initial talks.
“People in Ukraine remember back in February that the notorious meeting in the Oval Office between Zelenskyy and Trump, his dressing down by the US president,” Stratford said, adding that many Ukrainians believe their leader was “effectively being strong-armed into … a minerals deal.” Concerns are mounting that Zelenskyy may once again be sidelined while decisions are made that directly affect Ukraine’s future.
Despite this, Zelenskyy has been reaching out to European allies. He has spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Stratford reported, noting that Zelenskyy insisted “it is vital to coordinate any kind of process with Europe because he says that Ukraine is part of Europe”.
Despite multiple visits to Moscow by Witkoff since Trump entered office in January after promising to end the war, no breakthrough has materialised. Trump acknowledged the lack of progress, saying, “I don’t call it a breakthrough … we have been working at this for a long time. There are thousands of young people dying … I’m here to get the thing over with.”
The Kremlin described Witkoff’s latest discussions as “constructive” and said both sides had exchanged “signals”, though it provided few specifics. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy confirmed he had spoken with Trump about the meeting, alongside European leaders.
Pavel Felgenhauer, a defence and military analyst speaking from Moscow, told Al Jazeera that there is confusion surrounding what was actually agreed in recent diplomacy with Witkoff. “Because in Washington they say one thing, in Moscow, they say the other,” he said.
While Witkoff may have raised the possibility of Ukraine joining talks, Felgenhauer said Russia’s silence on the matter can be interpreted as a flat rejection.
Felgenhauer argued that Moscow is not aiming for a ceasefire, but is instead focused on securing a high-level summit with Trump. “That’s what Putin always wanted. He wants a summit to lecture Trump on why Russia should have a large part of Ukraine and why Ukraine is an artificial state,” he said. While the agenda for the summit is still being formed, he warned that it is unlikely to produce tangible results in terms of a ceasefire.
Still, Felgenhauer noted that there is hope in Moscow that the summit could pave the way for improved US-Russia relations. “That’s Putin’s main objective – to improve relations with America and push Ukraine to the side,” he said.
Expectations remain low that a peace deal will be reached before Trump’s deadline. Russia continues to launch air strikes across Ukraine, and Moscow’s conditions for ending the war, such as Kyiv’s demilitarisation, neutrality and renunciation of NATO membership, remain non-starters for Ukraine and its Western allies.
Putin also demands Ukrainian withdrawal from Russian-occupied regions, the formal recognition of Crimea, and the lifting of international sanctions. Kyiv has consistently rejected those terms.
Meanwhile, the White House has approved an additional $200m military aid package for Ukraine, including support for drone manufacturing. And in a separate move, Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday imposing 25 percent tariffs on Indian imports over India’s ongoing purchases of Russian oil.
