President Donald Trump introduced Friday he’ll meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin because the White Home presses for a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump informed reporters throughout a trilateral assembly with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan he’ll meet with Putin “very shortly.”
Later, Trump introduced on social media the assembly will probably be Aug. 15 in Alaska.
It could be the primary U.S.-Russia bilateral assembly since former President Joe Biden met with Putin in 2021, months earlier than Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin stated Thursday a gathering between the 2 leaders would happen “within the coming days,” and Trump has privately informed European counterparts he deliberate to fulfill with Putin in individual.
The announcement opens a brand new avenue for negotiations to finish the struggle between Russia and Ukraine. Trump has more and more expressed displeasure with Putin in latest months over what he sees as efforts to delay the struggle.
“My intuition actually tells me that now we have a shot at it,” Trump stated Friday in regards to the probability of an settlement.
Trump had set Friday as a deadline for Russia to conform to a ceasefire with Ukraine or else face secondary sanctions from the U.S. On Wednesday, White Home particular envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin wherein “nice progress was made,” the president stated on social media afterwards.
On Thursday, Trump stated he wouldn’t power Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fulfill as a requirement for a Trump-Putin assembly, contradicting a earlier assertion from the White Home.