Donald Trump has said he is ready to meet Vladimir Putin despite the Russian leader’s refusal to meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, dispelling speculation that direct talks between the two warring presidents were a precondition of a US-Russia summit. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said that Putin did not have to meet with Zelenskyy first before the US and Russian presidents could meet.
“No, he doesn’t,” Trump said. “They would like to meet with me and I’ll do whatever I can to stop the killing.” That contradicted a New York Post report citing a White House official who said that Trump would only meet Putin if the Kremlin leader met Zelenskyy, something Putin has previously rejected. The mixed messaging suggested a chaotic new chapter in Trump’s haphazard efforts to negotiate a ceasefire to the war in Ukraine.
Putin said he was not ready to meet Zelenskyy, even as the Kremlin claimed preparations were under way for a bilateral summit with Trump next week. “I have nothing against it in general, it is possible, but certain conditions must be created for this,” said Putin. “But unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.” After Putin met Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in the Kremlin on Wednesday, reports from Washington suggested the Russian president had agreed to meet Trump first and then Zelenskyy in a trilateral format. However, the Kremlin denied that the topic of a three-way summit was raised.
“We propose focusing on preparations for a bilateral meeting with Trump in the first place,” said Putin aide Yuri Ushakov. “As for a three-way meeting, which for some reason Washington was talking about yesterday, this was just something mentioned by the American side during the meeting in the Kremlin. But this was not discussed.” No venue was given for the potential bilateral summit, but Putin suggested the UAE could be a suitable place, noting that the UAE president was a friend willing to help organise such events.
The prospect of Putin and Trump trying to come to an agreement on Ukraine without Kyiv or European capitals present is likely to alarm them, as they have consistently said Ukraine must be involved in discussions about its fate. Russia favours a “great powers summit” to negotiate over the heads of Europeans. Kremlin economic adviser Kirill Dmitriev said the meeting would prevent “misinformation” about Russia and could become “an important historic event”.
Trump called Zelenskyy after Witkoff left Russia on Wednesday, with Nato chief Mark Rutte and several European leaders also on the line. Zelenskyy was careful not to criticise Trump but said he would spend the day speaking with European allies. “We in Ukraine have repeatedly said that the search for real solutions can become truly effective only at the level of leaders,” he wrote on Telegram. Later, he said he had spoken with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, coordinating positions on a common European vision for security.
