Trump expects to meet Putin as early as next week

NEW YORK - U.S. President Donald Trump hopes to hold a face-to-face meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next week, which is expected to be followed soon by a trilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, the The New York Times citing its sources.

According to the newspaper, Trump announced his plans during a phone call with European leaders on Wednesday.

In addition to the US President, the call was attended by US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as the leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, the Secretary General of NATO and Ukrainian President Zelensky. European leaders are not expected to attend the meetings themselves.

Trump has previously said that the talks between his special representative Steve Witkoff and Putin were very productive and produced significant progress. Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Putin received Witkoff on the morning of August 6. According to Ushakov, a useful and constructive conversation took place, during which the Russian side conveyed certain signals regarding the Ukrainian issue and received corresponding signals from Trump.

Russia and the United States have agreed to a face-to-face meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, which is expected to take place in the coming days. The information was confirmed by Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov, adding that preparations for the summit are already underway and the choice of the venue is practically closed. Although the exact date has not been announced, the meeting is expected to take place as early as next week.

The French Daily Le Monde reports that, according to White House sources, Trump sees the situation as urgent and is ready to negotiate not only with Putin but also with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump reportedly said that "there is a good chance" of real progress, but also acknowledged that reaching an agreement may be difficult because of deep differences between the parties. The French media outlet recalls that peace talks have repeatedly collapsed in the past precisely on Moscow's unwillingness to negotiate directly with Kiev without preconditions.

According to the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung the Kremlin considers the recent meeting between Putin and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff "constructive". The closed-door meeting in Moscow lasted three hours and, according to the Russian side, was in a "working spirit". FAZ quotes an unnamed senior Kremlin official as saying that "Witkoff conveyed important signals from the White House" and the Russian side considers the US initiative a "cautious step in the right direction".

French TV France24 referring to the Elysee Palace, said Paris had not yet been officially informed of the planned summit, but diplomatic sources in Brussels said the EU was ready to respond immediately if the meeting led to concrete proposals to stop the fighting. Both France and Germany are reportedly concerned that a unilateral agreement between Washington and Moscow could be reached without coordination with European partners or without the direct involvement of Ukraine.

According to the German server Euronews Deutschland Trump is under pressure to make a clear move in foreign policy towards de-escalating the war, and the meeting with Putin is intended to serve that purpose. Sources close to his administration have said the summit is to be held in a neutral country, possibly in Europe, but the final location has still not been disclosed.

At the same time, Euronews points out that the White House is pushing for the negotiations to proceed as quickly as possible, and one of the proposals was to hold a trilateral meeting with Zelensky after the bilateral meeting. But this proposal was ignored by the Russian side, according to Ushakov.

French Le Figaro today carried a brief statement from a Kremlin spokesman, who said that the "summit between Presidents Putin and Trump technically ready" and will be announced as soon as all the logistical details are finalized. The spokesman also cautioned against exaggerated expectations and stressed that "there are no miracle recipes". The Russian side is said to be approaching the negotiations pragmatically and with an awareness of the complexity of the situation.

While the Kremlin confirms its readiness for dialogue, Kiev continues to push for its presence at the table. President Zelensky, in a statement to Le Monde reiterated that "without Ukraine, there can be no discussion about Ukraine" and appealed to allies to demand its direct involvement in any negotiating format. Meanwhile, sources at the Elysee Palace said French diplomacy was working to create a parallel diplomatic channel to ensure that Europe was not left out of the loop.

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