A White House official confirmed Thursday that President Donald Trump will not agree to a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin unless the Russian leader also agrees to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The clarification came after Russian officials claimed the United States had agreed "in principle" to a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin, stating that a venue had already been secured. However, the White House swiftly rejected that assertion, emphasizing that no final decision had been made and that Trump’s participation hinged on Putin consenting to a direct meeting with Zelensky. ABC News corroborated the White House’s position.
Earlier Thursday, the Kremlin suggested that preparations were underway for a summit in the near future.
"A meeting between Putin and Trump [will take place] in the coming days," said Putin aide Yuri Ushakov. "The venue of the meeting between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, has been agreed, and the Kremlin will inform about it later."
The announcement followed a three-hour meeting between Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and President Putin, during which the war in Ukraine and broader U.S.-Russia relations were discussed. After being briefed on the meeting, Trump reportedly informed both President Zelensky and European leaders via phone that he planned to meet with Putin next week. According to The New York Times, Trump expressed a desire to limit the meeting to just himself, Putin, and Zelensky — excluding European counterparts.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented Wednesday that a Trump-Putin summit “in the near future” is possible but cautioned that several conditions still need to be met.
“Today was a good day, but we’ve got a lot of work ahead. There are still many impediments to overcome,” Rubio said.
Since the onset of the war in February 2022, Putin has refused to meet with Zelensky, arguing that the Ukrainian president is illegitimate due to suspended elections under martial law. Trump has been actively pressuring Putin to pursue a peace agreement with Ukraine, reportedly giving Moscow a deadline of Friday to reach a deal. If no agreement is made, the United States plans to implement secondary tariffs on Russia — a move intended to cripple the Russian war effort by targeting countries that fund the regime through oil purchases.