US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for direct talks on the Ukraine war, even if Putin does not hold a prior meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This marks a shift from earlier suggestions that a Putin-Zelensky encounter was a necessary step before any summit between the US and Russian leaders.
Trump’s remarks came just a day before a Friday deadline he had given Moscow to reach a ceasefire or face additional sanctions. However, when pressed by reporters in the Oval Office on whether that ultimatum still stood, the president offered a vague response, saying, “It’s going to be up to (Putin). We’re going to see what he has to say.”
Since returning to office in January, Trump has intensified pressure on Russia to end its ongoing military campaign in Ukraine. The Kremlin announced Thursday that Putin was expected to meet Trump “in the coming days,” while making clear that Zelensky’s participation was not part of the plan. Zelensky, however, has repeatedly insisted that Ukraine must be directly involved in any negotiations aimed at ending the war.
When asked whether a meeting between Putin and Zelensky was required before his own talks with the Russian leader, Trump’s response was blunt: “No, he doesn’t.” Putin has floated the United Arab Emirates as a possible location for the summit, though Washington has not confirmed this.
The proposed meeting would be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021. The last time Trump and Putin met face-to-face was at the 2019 G20 summit in Japan during Trump’s first term, although they have spoken by phone several times since Trump’s return to the White House.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov suggested that next week is being targeted for the talks, claiming both sides have agreed to a venue “in principle.” The White House, however, denied that any date or location had been finalized, while acknowledging the meeting “could occur as early as next week.”
The war, now stretching beyond three years, has claimed tens of thousands of lives since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Millions have been displaced, and extensive parts of eastern and southern Ukraine have been devastated by Russian attacks. At previous negotiations in Istanbul, Russia made uncompromising demands, including Ukrainian withdrawal from certain territories it still controls and a renunciation of Western military aid.
Calls for tougher measures against Moscow persist in Washington. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged Trump to use his influence to press Putin into ending the war. “Face-to-face dialogue is important, but Putin cannot be allowed yet another opportunity to delay or water down President Trump’s promise of harsh sanctions taking effect tomorrow,” she said Thursday evening.
Reports of a potential summit followed a visit by US special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow, where he proposed a trilateral meeting involving Zelensky. Putin appeared to reject the idea, stating that “certain conditions must be created for this” and warning that such conditions were “still far” from being met. He previously said he would only meet Zelensky in a “final phase” of negotiations toward ending the conflict.
In his nightly address on Thursday, Zelensky reiterated his position that Ukraine’s participation in any peace talks is essential. He also held discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to emphasize that Europe should play a role in any settlement process. “Ukraine is an integral part of Europe—we are already in negotiations on EU accession. Therefore, Europe must be a participant in the relevant processes,” Zelensky said on social media.
What you should know
Trump has agreed to meet Putin for direct talks without requiring a prior Putin-Zelensky meeting, despite earlier suggestions to the contrary.
The Kremlin expects the summit in the “coming days,” but Washington says no date or venue has been finalized. The war in Ukraine has entered its fourth year, with heavy casualties and widespread displacement.
Zelensky maintains that Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations, while Russia continues to demand significant concessions from Kyiv. The summit, if held, would be the first US-Russia presidential meeting since 2021.
