US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in a bilateral summit as early as next week, the Kremlin announced on Thursday. The news comes at a charged time in global geopolitics, with Trump stepping up efforts to put pressure on Moscow for its current war in Ukraine and its recent surge in trade tensions.
At the initiative of the American side, there has been an agreement in principle to organize a bilateral summit within the next few days," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted by Russian state media as saying. "We have now begun working on the details along with our American partners," he added, saying that "next week has been proposed as a deadline.
While Ushakov did admit that a location had been decided on "in principle," he refused to go into details.
The Kremlin response came after a trip to Moscow by U.S. representative Steve Witkoff, who had been said to have floated a trilateral gathering with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But, Moscow remained mum on that proposal, according to Ushakov. "The Russian side left this option completely without comment," he stated.
Trump, however, had previewed the gathering a day earlier, saying he was most likely to meet with Putin "very soon."
President Trump has been working to broker a cease-fire in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict now well into its fourth year. Yet, despite several rounds of negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, little progress has been reported.
The conflict, started in February 2022, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. Russia's military offensive persists, with leaders in the West—U.S. and Europe included—constantly calling on Moscow to sign a ceasefire.
But the Kremlin has been adamant, rejecting demands for a ceasefire and displaying scant desire to make concessions.
With Washington and Moscow digging in—Trump with fresh tariffs and Moscow with persistent belligerence—potential summit could be a turning point in world diplomacy. Whether it does break through anything remains to be seen.
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