Putin Confirms Meeting With Donald Trump In Coming Days Amid Ukraine Conflict, UAE Could Host Summit

New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday confirmed plans to meet United States President Donald Trump soon for direct talks on the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Russian President named the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a possible venue for the high-stakes summit. 

“We have many friends who are willing to help us organise such events. One of our friends is the president of the United Arab Emirates,” Putin said, signalling support for a neutral location to host the dialogue. 

The Kremlin earlier in the day announced that a meeting between the two leaders is expected to take place in the “coming days.” If held, it would mark the first in-person summit between the current presidents of Russia and the United States since President Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.

President Trump, speaking on Wednesday, also indicated that a face-to-face meeting with Putin was likely to happen “very soon.” The two last met in person in 2019 during the G20 summit in Japan, though they have held several phone conversations since Trump returned to the White House.

The diplomatic push comes as efforts to end the more than three-year-long conflict in Ukraine remain stalled. Three rounds of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to produce progress towards a ceasefire. Both sides remain sharply divided over the terms for ending hostilities.

In a parallel development, Putin held talks in Moscow on Wednesday with Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The meeting took place just days ahead of a deadline set by the White House for Russia to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine. The deadline, which expires on Friday, carries the threat of significant economic penalties, including sanctions that may extend to countries purchasing Russian oil.

President Trump had initially issued a 50-day deadline to Moscow, which was later expedited amid ongoing Russian bombardments of Ukrainian cities.

Yuri Ushakov, foreign affairs adviser to President Putin, described the discussion with Witkoff as “useful and constructive,” noting that it centred on the Ukrainian crisis and the “prospects for possible development of strategic cooperation between the US and Russia.”

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