Trump says Putin doesn’t need to meet Zelensky for Russia-US summit
(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump stated he is willing to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin even if Putin does not meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky first.
This contradicted a White House official’s earlier claim reported by the New York Post that a Putin-Zelensky meeting was a precondition for a Trump-Putin summit. Trump told reporters, “He doesn’t, no,” when asked if Putin must meet Zelensky beforehand, adding that he would do whatever he can to stop the violence.
Zelensky has repeatedly urged direct talks with Putin to resolve the conflict, but Putin has maintained that certain conditions must be met before such a meeting. Putin also questioned Zelensky’s authority to make binding agreements, citing the expiration of Zelensky’s term and the postponement of elections under martial law, which Moscow uses to label Zelensky “illegitimate.”
The comments came after Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov suggested a Trump-Putin meeting could happen as soon as next week, with the United Arab Emirates proposed as a possible venue.
These developments follow a visit to Moscow by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who had three hours of talks with Putin on the Ukraine conflict. The Kremlin described the talks as “constructive,” and the White House said they exceeded expectations. Trump also mentioned “great progress,” though no concrete results have been announced.
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