[New York=AP/Newsis] Mike Waltz, the next White House National Security Advisor. (Photo=NewsisDB) January 13, 2025
[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Lee Jae-joon = Mike Waltz, the upcoming U.S. National Security Advisor, announced on the 12th (local time) that President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are preparing for a summit to discuss the war in Ukraine.
During an interview with ABC News, Waltz, the incoming Security Advisor, stated that President-elect Trump, who will be inaugurated on the 20th, and President Putin are scheduled to hold a telephone summit within a few days or weeks.
This statement further confirms President-elect Trump’s announcement on the 9th that a summit with President Putin was already in the works.
Waltz stated, “Negotiations cannot commence without a relationship or dialogue in any form with the counterpart (Russia),” and asserted that they will definitely establish this within the coming months.
Although Waltz did not specify the exact schedule for the summit, he did not rule out the possibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joining the summit, stating, “The format of the meeting has not been confirmed yet.”
Additionally, Waltz anticipated that there will be further progress in the upcoming telephone conversation between President-elect Trump and President Putin, even though a clear framework has not been established yet.
In response to President-elect Trump’s efforts to arrange a meeting with President Putin, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov expressed a welcoming stance.
Spokesperson Peskov stated that Russia is not attaching any preconditions to the Trump-Putin face-to-face meeting.
Meanwhile, regarding the Trump-Putin summit, the Swiss government expressed its willingness to host the event in their country.