Donald Trump open to meeting Putin without Zelensky

US President Donald Trump has shown interest in meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin to talk about ending the war in Ukraine, even if Putin hasn’t yet met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This is a change from Trump’s earlier position, where he wanted a meeting between Putin and Zelensky to happen first.

Trump has given Russia a deadline until Friday to agree to a ceasefire or face new US sanctions. When asked if the deadline still stands, Trump did not give a clear answer, saying, “It’s going to be up to Putin.”

Since returning to office in January, Trump has been putting more pressure on Russia to stop the war. The Kremlin said Putin may meet Trump in the coming days, but ruled out Zelensky’s participation. Zelensky, however, says Ukraine must be included in any peace talks.

Putin suggested the United Arab Emirates as a possible place for the meeting. While Russia says a meeting could happen next week and a location is mostly agreed upon, US officials say the date and place are still not final.

If it happens, this would be the first meeting between US and Russian presidents since Biden met Putin in 2021. Trump and Putin last met in 2019, though they have spoken on the phone several times since Trump returned to office.

The Ukraine war is now in its third year and has caused thousands of deaths and major destruction in parts of the country. Russia has demanded that Ukraine give up some areas and stop working with Western countries — conditions Ukraine refuses to accept.

A US envoy recently met Putin in Moscow and suggested a three-way meeting with Zelensky, but Putin rejected it. Zelensky later said Ukraine must be part of any serious talks.

He also held meetings with European leaders and said Ukraine, the US, and Europe would soon hold an online meeting to discuss next steps.

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