Trump wants to meet Putin ‘as soon as it can be set up’

The US president has suggested that the world could become “much safer” in two to three weeks

US President Donald Trump has confirmed he is ready to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as soon as it can be arranged, emphasizing the importance of resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters in the United Arab Emirates on Friday amid his Middle East tour, Trump was asked to comment on when he could meet with Putin. The US leader stated “it’s time for us to just do it.”

“We’re going to get it done,” Trump said, adding that he would meet with Putin “as soon as we can set it up.”

While he didn’t give an exact timeline for the potential face-to-face encounter, he suggested that while the world is already a “much safer place,” it will be “much, much safer” in “two to three weeks.”

The US president had previously considered going to Türkiye on Friday “if something happened.” Delegations from Moscow and Kiev were expected to hold discussions there on Thursday after Putin suggested resuming the Istanbul talks, which were broken off three years ago. 

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The Kremlin delegation waited for its counterpart to arrive for the whole day. Vladimir Zelensky only named his delegation later in the evening, and the talks have been rescheduled for Friday.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday that a meeting between Trump and Putin is “certainly necessary,” but stressed that such a high-level summit “must be prepared and must be productive.”

Such meetings, Peskov explained, are always preceded by long and intense preparations, including consultations by expert groups from both sides.

He admitted that the summit is crucial, first of all for the furthering of bilateral Russia-US relations, and to discuss international affairs and regional problems, including the Ukraine crisis.