A high-level meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been officially confirmed, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. The summit, expected to take place in the coming days, was initiated by the American side and is currently in preparation by both governments.
“This will be a bilateral meeting at the highest level between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump,” Ushakov said in televised remarks. However, he did not specify the location of the summit.
The confirmation follows a meeting between Russian President Putin and American envoy Steve Witkoff, during which Witkoff proposed a possible trilateral summit including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That suggestion, however, received no comment from the Russian leader.
While the Russian side has refrained from making predictions about the outcome of the Trump–Putin talks, the American side has expressed optimism, suggesting the meeting could bring the conflict in Ukraine closer to resolution. The Russian stock market responded positively to the announcement, with its main index jumping 4.5% shortly after Ushakov’s comments.
Ukrainian President Zelensky, reacting to the developments, reiterated that a face-to-face meeting with Putin remains “a clear priority.” Writing on X, he stated that “real solutions can only be achieved at the level of leaders” and emphasized the possibility of “lasting peace” through direct dialogue.
Following Witkoff’s visit to Moscow, Zelensky held a phone conversation with Donald Trump, in which several European leaders also participated. He is expected to speak with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the leaders of France and Italy later today, focusing on potential ceasefire terms, security guarantees, and the possibility of a three-way summit.
“There will also be discussions at the level of national security advisers,” Zelensky added, stressing the need to pressure Russia into “taking concrete steps to end its aggression.”
The confirmation comes shortly after Trump’s envoy, SteveWitkoff, held talks with Putin in Moscow — a meeting widely seen as a key step in reviving direct U.S.-Russia dialogue. The Witkoff visit signaled a shift toward more direct engagement amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. While details of the summit remain under wraps, the meeting is expected to address critical security and geopolitical issues between the two countries.
