The White House: Trump 'Open to Joint Meeting' with Putin and Zelensky

SadaNews - The Kremlin announced on Thursday that a location has been agreed upon for the anticipated meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, while preparations are underway to hold the meeting sometime next week, according to Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian president.

 

Ushakov clarified that the final date for the meeting still depends on the readiness of the parties involved, noting that preparations could take several days, adding that Moscow will announce the location of the meeting later.

He pointed out that the meeting between Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff was "constructive," discussing the possibility of expanding cooperation to find a way out of the Ukrainian crisis.

Witkoff also addressed the possibility of a trilateral meeting between Putin, Trump, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, although Moscow refrained from commenting on this proposal at this time.

In this context, White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt confirmed that President Trump is "open to a joint meeting" with Putin and Zelensky, indicating that the Russians have shown readiness to meet with Trump.

The New York Times reported that the possibility of holding the trilateral meeting was raised in a phone call between Trump and Zelensky, with the participation of European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, along with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Trump described the meeting of his envoy Witkoff with the Russian president as "very fruitful," confirming that significant progress was made during discussions that lasted nearly three hours. He expressed optimism about the imminent end of the war, reiterating his previous statement that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office.

Despite this positive atmosphere, a senior U.S. official conveyed that Washington will impose "secondary sanctions" on Russia's trade partners on Friday, a step aimed at tightening Moscow's ability to cope with Western sanctions, which could hinder ongoing diplomatic efforts.

Trump had given Moscow until the end of this week to make progress on the path to de-escalation, or it would face a new package of U.S. sanctions.