LONDON — The Kremlin announced Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to hold a meeting soon, although the exact date and location remain undisclosed.
Yuri Ushakov, a senior advisor to Putin, stated that preparations for the summit are now underway. “A meeting between President Putin and President Trump is expected in the coming days,” he said.
Ushakov also noted that while White House special envoy Steve Witkoff proposed a possible trilateral meeting involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the upcoming talks will be strictly between Trump and Putin. “The location for the meeting has been finalized and will be announced by the Kremlin shortly,” he added.
Witkoff had a face-to-face discussion with Putin on Wednesday, ahead of Trump’s previously set deadline of Friday for Russia to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine or face sweeping sanctions.
President Trump later described Witkoff’s conversation with the Russian leader as “highly productive” in a post on social media.
“We made great progress! I’ve since updated some of our European allies, and there is broad agreement that the war must end. We’ll be working toward that goal in the coming days and weeks,” Trump wrote.
Last month, Trump warned that if Putin failed to reach a ceasefire agreement by August 8, his administration would impose tougher economic sanctions. These would include secondary measures targeting countries like India and China that continue to purchase Russian fossil fuels.
