Donald Trump has said he would meet Vladimir Putin even if the Russian leader will not meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Trump was asked by a reporter if the Russian leader would need to meet Mr Zelensky to secure a meeting with the US, and replied: “No, he doesn’t. No.”
His comments followed Mr Putin’s remarks earlier on Thursday that he hoped to meet the US president next week, possibly in the United Arab Emirates, but the White House was still working through the details of any potential meetings, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Mr Putin’s announcement came on the eve of a White House deadline for Moscow to show progress towards ending the three-year war in Ukraine or suffer additional economic sanctions.
Asked on Thursday if his deadline for Friday would hold, Mr Trump said of Mr Putin: “It’s going to be up to him. We’re going to see what he has to say. It’s going to be up to him. Very disappointed.”
He also touched on killings that have continued on both sides and added, “I don’t like long waits. I think it’s a shame.”
A White House official told the Associated Press on Thursday morning that a US-Russian summit would not happen if Mr Putin did not agree to meet Mr Zelensky, but the official later said it only made it less likely.
Speaking of possible direct talks with Mr Zelensky, the Russian president said he has mentioned several times that he was not against it, adding: “It’s a possibility, but certain conditions need to be created.”
The Kremlin has previously said Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky should meet only when an agreement negotiated by their delegations is close.
Ukraine fears being sidelined by direct negotiations between Washington and Moscow, and Mr Zelensky said he had phone conversations with several European leaders on Thursday amid a flurry of diplomatic activity. European countries have pledged to back Ukraine for as long as it takes to defeat Russia’s invasion.
Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, earlier brushed aside the possibility of Mr Zelensky joining the summit, something the White House said Mr Trump was ready to consider. Mr Putin has spurned Mr Zelensky’s previous offers of a meeting to clinch a breakthrough.
Asked who initiated the possible talks with the US president, Mr Putin said that did not matter and “both sides expressed an interest”.
A meeting would be the first US-Russia summit since 2021, when Joe Biden met Mr Putin in Geneva. It would be a significant milestone towards Mr Trump’s effort to end the war, although there is no guarantee it would stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace.
Months of US-led efforts have yielded no progress on stopping Russia’s invasion of its neighbour. The war has killed tens of thousands of troops on both sides and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations.
Western officials have repeatedly accused Mr Putin of stalling in peace negotiations to allow Russian forces time to capture more Ukrainian land. He has previously offered no concessions and said he will accept a settlement only on his terms.
Mr Zelensky said European countries must also be involved in finding a solution to the war on their own continent.
“Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same bold approach from the Russian side. It is time to end the war,” he added.
A ceasefire and long-term security guarantees are priorities in potential negotiation with Russia, he said on social media.
He noted that Russian strikes on civilians have not eased despite Mr Trump publicly urging Mr Putin to relent.
A Russian attack on Wednesday in the central Dnipro region killed four people and wounded eight others, he said.
A new Gallup poll published on Thursday found that Ukrainians are increasingly eager for a peace settlement. In the survey, conducted in early July, about seven in 10 Ukrainians said their country should seek to negotiate a settlement as soon as possible.
