Kremlin Confirms Upcoming Trump-Putin Bilateral Summit Next Week
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Presidential Envoy, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on the 6th (local time) and shook hands with him. Witkoff conveyed President Donald Trump’s stance and plans regarding the end of the Ukraine war to the Russian side and held talks with key Russian diplomatic and security officials.
According to [Financial News], U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold a summit as early as next week. President Trump, during an event announcing Apple’s investment plans in the U.S. at the White House on the 6th, responded to reporters’ questions about when he would meet with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine by saying there is a “good chance” of the meeting happening “very soon.”
Although the question included a meeting with not only President Putin but also Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, foreign media interpreted Trump’s answer as hinting at a meeting with President Putin. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has had six phone calls with Putin but has not met him in person.
In a briefing on the 7th, Yury Ushakov, Kremlin’s foreign policy advisor, confirmed the plans for a U.S.-Russia summit. According to Russian media outlets like TASS and RIA Novosti, Ushakov stated that they have “principally agreed” to hold a high-level bilateral meeting, a summit between President Putin and President Trump, at the request of the U.S. He added that they are currently preparing specific arrangements with their American colleagues, have agreed on the location, and will announce it soon.
The New York Times reported, citing sources, that Trump plans to meet with Putin as early as next week and then hold a trilateral meeting with President Zelensky. It was suggested that Trump disclosed these plans to European leaders during phone calls. The trilateral meeting is expected to include only the presidents of the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine, excluding European leaders, who seem to have accepted this plan, according to sources.
Ushakov stated that while they aim to hold the summit with President Trump and President Putin next week, it is hard to predict how many days the preparations will take. He expressed a positive outlook on this plan.
Regarding the trilateral meeting including President Zelensky, though U.S. envoy Witkoff mentioned such an idea during his visit to Russia, Russia has not commented on it. Ushakov suggested focusing on preparing the bilateral summit with Trump, emphasizing its importance for successful and productive outcomes, which seems to downplay the possibility of a trilateral meeting.
President Putin also started informing Russia’s allies through appropriate channels about the results of his meeting with Envoy Witkoff. Ushakov described the dialogue between Witkoff and Putin as constructive and noted satisfaction with the outcomes from both sides. They discussed additional joint efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis, and it was mentioned that Russia-U.S. relations could be established based on a mutually beneficial scenario.
President Trump described Witkoff’s meeting with Putin in Russia as “highly productive” and noted “great progress” in his social media post. Ukrainian President Zelensky, who also spoke with Trump, positively evaluated that “Russia now seems more willing to ceasefire.”
Consequently, Trump’s diplomacy-led efforts to end the Ukraine war may reach a turning point as early as next week. Despite entering his second term with a declaration to end the Ukraine war, his plans have not progressed as desired, leading to expressed dissatisfaction.
On the same day, Trump resumed diplomatic efforts while also moving on the “sanctions” front. He announced that India would face an additional 25% tariff (second tariff) on Russian oil imports in three weeks and hinted at imposing similar tariffs on Russia’s other major energy importing country, China. By scheduling the additional tariff on India for “three weeks later,” he signaled a potential shift to a “Plan B” to pressure Russia’s finances if diplomacy does not succeed.