Trump says he plans to meet with Putin and Zelensky early next week after Vitkov’s visit to Moscow
US President Donald Trump intends to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, followed by a trilateral meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, the White House said on Wednesday.
Two White House officials told CNN that Putin suggested a meeting with Trump during the Russian leader’s face-to-face with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday.
Trump’s aides immediately began planning for these meetings, according to the two White House officials. While presidential travel and a major sit-down with two world leaders would normally take time to plan, these officials noted that Trump was urging his team to move fast.
The White House says it expects a meeting could happen as soon as next week or within the next two weeks. No location has been settled on, but several options are under discussion.
Trump spoke to European leaders over the phone on Wednesday, telling them about his plan to meet Putin and Zelensky, according to two sources familiar with the call. A European government source also confirmed the contents of the call.
“The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the president is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky. President Trump wants this brutal war to end,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Putin has been largely banished by Western leaders following his decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The last time the long-time Russian leader met with a US president was in 2021, when he met the then-President Joe Biden during a summit in Geneva, Switzerland.
Trump has repeatedly said he would meet with Putin since returning to the White House in January, but the announcement on Wednesday appeared more concrete than his previous comments.
Trump growing impatient with Putin
The Putin-Witkoff meeting, which Russian state media said lasted around three hours, took place after a frustrated Trump imposed a deadline on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire or face tough secondary sanctions, hitting countries that buy Russian oil with a 100% tariff.
Trump wrote on social media that “great progress was made” in the Wednesday meeting between Witkoff and Putin. Courtesy CNN.
