- Donald Trump wants to follow up his meeting with Vladimir Putin by meeting with both Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- Zelenskyy has said he is willing to meet with both Trump and Putin.
- Putin is willing to meet with Trump but is not ready to commit to a meeting with Zelenskyy as well.
For the first time during President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, he is expected to meet in person with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
According to BBC, on Thursday, the Kremlin stated that the two presidents have agreed to meet in the “coming days.”
This announcement comes after Trump earlier this week said there was a “good chance” he could meet with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “very soon” to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has indicated support for a meeting between the three leaders but Putin has not shown the same sentiment.
This talk of meetings comes shortly before Trump’s Friday deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or receive more sweeping sanctions, per BBC.
The Kremlin’s announcement of a meeting between Trump and Putin comes one day after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with the Russian president in Moscow on Wednesday.
It is unclear what exactly Witkoff and Putin discussed in their meeting, per The New York Times.
What the U.S. has said about potential meetings
The New York Times reported that Trump told European leaders he intended to meet with the Russian president and then that follow up by meeting with both Zelenskyy and Putin.
On Thursday, a Kremlin aide said that Moscow had not agreed to the three-way meeting but that it had been a suggestion from Witkoff.
When asked about a meeting between Trump and Putin, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “a lot has to happen before that can occur,” per The Associated Press.
Rubio said that the U.S. would be having talks with European allies and Ukrainian leadership over the next few days.
He added that having Trump meet directly with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents would help finalize an agreement but said “We’ve got to get close enough to that point so that a meeting like that will be productive and worth doing.”
Trump has not met with Putin yet this year, but met with him five times during his first term, per the AP.
What Russia has said about potential meetings
According to The New York Times, when speaking about the coming meeting with Trump the Kremlin did not set an exact date or location for the summit.
When speaking about a meeting with Zelenskyy as well as Trump, Putin said he is not against the idea but reiterated that “certain conditions” must be met before that happens.
“We are unfortunately, at the moment, far away from those conditions,” Putin said, per The New York Times
What Ukraine has said about potential meetings
In a statement on X, Zelenskyy said that a number of meeting formats had been suggested, per the AP.
“Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side,” he wrote. “It is time we ended the war. Thank you to everyone who is helping.”
According to the AP, Zelenskyy has been willing to meet in person with Putin to end the fighting, but the idea has been repeatedly rejected by Russia.
Zelenskyy has met with Trump several times this year.