An agreement has been reached for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to meet “in the coming days”, a Kremlin aide has said.
After the US president touted a “very good prospect” of the leaders meeting for Ukraine ceasefire talks, foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday that Russian and American officials have started working on the details.
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“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,” he said.
“We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues.”
It would mark the first time the two leaders met since Mr Trump returned to office, and comes after a three-hour meeting between Mr Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after the meeting that it appeared as though Russia is “more inclined to a ceasefire”.
Mr Ushakov also said that Mr Witkoff had talked about the idea of a trilateral meeting between Mr Putin, Mr Trump, and Mr Zelenskyy during the talks yesterday – but added that Moscow did not comment on the suggestion.
“We propose, first of all, to focus on preparing a bilateral meeting with Trump, and we consider it most important that this meeting be successful and productive,” he said.
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Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president said he plans to speak to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as contacts from France and Italy, throughout Thursday.
Mr Zelenskyy said he planned to discuss a ceasefire, a leaders’ summit and long-term security, adding: “Ukraine has never wanted war and will work toward peace as productively as possible.”
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It also comes as a poll from Gallup shows 69% of Ukrainians support a negotiated end to the war with Russia – an almost total reversal from 2022, where 73% favoured fighting until victory.
However, most are sceptical that the war will end soon, with 68% responding that they believe it is unlikely active fighting will end within the next 12 months.
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