Trump-putin Summit Tentatively Set For Next Week, White House Official Says

A gathering betwixt President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is tentatively scheduled for nan extremity of adjacent week, a elder White House charismatic told NBC News connected Friday.

The location is still being discussed, this charismatic said, but possibilities see nan United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Switzerland and Rome.

Further specifications and logistics of nan gathering are still unclear and stay very fluid, including whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will beryllium involved.

The White House charismatic said nan Russians person provided a database of demands for a imaginable ceasefire, and nan U.S. is now trying to get buy-in from Ukrainians and European allies.

Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials person agelong said they would not concede immoderate territory that Russia illegally annexed.

In a connection Friday, White House property caput Karoline Leavitt told NBC News, “President Trump has been clear since he inherited this warfare from Joe Biden six months ago: he wants it to extremity astatine nan negotiating table. At nan President’s direction, Special Envoy Witkoff erstwhile again met pinch President Putin to talk imaginable paths to peace, and nan President and his nationalist information squad are discussing those paths pinch some nan Ukrainians and nan Europeans. Out of respect for our delicate negotiated discussions pinch Russia, Ukraine, and our European allies, nan White House will not remark connected alleged specifications successful nan news media.”

On Thursday, Trump publically acknowledged that a gathering betwixt himself and Putin could beryllium forthcoming, telling reporters successful nan Oval Office that a gathering betwixt Putin and Zelenskyy was not beryllium a prerequisite for a gathering betwixt nan U.S. and Russian leaders.

The White House had antecedently floated nan anticipation of a trilateral gathering betwixt Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy, but nan Kremlin dismissed that thought connected Thursday.

Later Thursday, Putin told reporters successful nan Kremlin that nan thought of a Trump-Putin gathering had been floated, saying, “Interest was shown connected some sides. Who said what first — it is nary longer important.”

He besides said astir nan anticipation of himself gathering straight pinch Zelenskyy, telling reporters that his "conditions" for specified a gathering haven't yet been met.

“I person already said galore times that I, successful general, person thing against it. It is possible. But for this to happen, definite conditions must beryllium created. Unfortunately, specified conditions are acold distant yet," Putin said.

On Friday, Zelenskyy wrote astir nan specifications of his speech pinch South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in a station connected X, blaming Russia for nan war's continuation.

"Cyril besides shared specifications of his speech pinch nan Russian side. Ukraine’s position is perfectly clear: nan way to bid must statesman pinch a ceasefire," Zelenskyy wrote.

He added, "We are fresh for this, arsenic good arsenic for meetings astatine nan highest level successful various formats. From nan very first seconds of nan war, we person wanted it to end, arsenic it was not Ukraine that started this war. And it is Russia that is nan only logic for its prolongation and nan absence of peace."

A imaginable acme adjacent week betwixt Trump and Putin would beryllium nan first gathering betwixt nan 2 leaders truthful acold successful nan 2nd Trump administration.

Trump and Zelenskyy person met respective times complete nan past 7 months, including during a February Oval Office gathering that ended successful a shouting lucifer betwixt Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance.

The 2 besides met connected nan sidelines of Pope Francis' ceremonial successful April.

Throughout nan statesmanlike run past year, Trump often told voters that 1 of his priorities was ending nan warfare successful Ukraine. Over nan past fewer months, he's waffled betwixt blaming Putin and Zelenskyy for nan war's continuation.

During his Oval Office remarks connected Thursday, Trump said that he was "very disappointed" and that he expected Putin to determine by Friday astir a imaginable ceasefire successful nan war.

"It’s going to beryllium up to him. We're going to, we're going to spot what he has to say. It's going to beryllium up to him. Very disappointed," Trump told reporters.