MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will meet in the coming days, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday, in what would be the first summit between leaders of the two countries since 2021.
The announcement came a day after Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, held talks with Putin in search of a breakthrough to end the Ukraine war. Trump has threatened new sanctions against Russia and countries that buy its exports if there is no deal.
“At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was essentially reached to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days, that is, a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump,” Ushakov said.
“We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues,” Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.
He said a summit venue had been agreed, but would be announced later. Putin was due on Thursday to meet the president of the United Arab Emirates, which sources have previously suggested as a possible venue.
The Russian stock market rose more than 5% on the news, with its main MOEX index hitting its highest level in two months. The rouble hit a two-week high against the US dollar and China’s yuan.
There has been no summit of US and Russian leaders since Putin and Joe Biden met in Geneva in June 2021. Russia went to war in Ukraine in February 2022, plunging relations into deep crisis.
Trump has moved to mend relations with Russia and try to end the war, although in his public comments he has veered between admiration and sharp criticism of Putin.
‘MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL’
Ushakov said Trump’s envoy, Witkoff, had on Wednesday raised the possibility of a three-way meeting of Trump, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
But he said the Russian side had left this proposal “completely without comment”.
“We propose, first of all, to focus on preparing for a bilateral meeting with Trump and we believe that the main thing is for this meeting to be successful and productive,” Ushakov said.
He said the Putin-Witkoff meeting had been businesslike and constructive.
“It was noted again that Russian-American relations can be built according to a completely different, mutually beneficial scenario, significantly different from how they have developed in recent years,” Ushakov said.
Pro-Kremlin war blogger Yuri Podolyaka, posting after the Putin-Witkoff talks, said the Russian leader had played a “masterful diplomatic game”.
“It seems that Vladimir Putin has managed to spin Trump in a ‘carousel of negotiations’,” he posted on his blog, which has more than 3 million subscribers.
Trump on Wednesday announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, to come into force on August 28, citing New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil, sharply escalating tensions between the two nations.
He also said he may announce similar further tariffs on goods from China, another big buyer of Russian oil.
Russian security official Sergei Shoigu met Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval on Thursday and told him Moscow was committed to a “comprehensive strengthening of the joint strategic partnership” between the two countries.
Interfax news agency quoted Doval as saying Putin was expected to visit India at the end of August.
