Trump plans to meet Putin, hold trilateral meeting with Zelensky as early as next week, media reports
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include additional details.
U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week and intends to hold a trilateral meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin shortly after, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Aug. 6.
Earlier in the day, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin as Trump's Aug. 8 deadline for Russia to reach a ceasefire with Ukraine looms.
Fox News reported that Putin told Witkoff about his intention to meet with Trump at some point in the near future.
In a phone call following the talks in Moscow, Trump told European leaders that he plans to meet with Putin and Zelensky without any other representatives from the continent, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The European officials Trump spoke with over the phone appeared to accept Trump's decision not to involve more leaders in the process, one of the sources said.
CNN reported that Trump has instructed his team to accelerate planning for both the one-on-one meeting with Putin and the proposed trilateral summit.
Such talks would mark the first direct negotiations between the three leaders since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump and Zelensky held a phone call following Witkoff's visit to Moscow. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio, and Witkoff joined the conversation, the NYT reported.
In his public remarks following the call, Trump appeared uncommitted on a timeline for the potential meeting, adding, "there's a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon."
When asked by reporters whether he believed the U.S. was close to reaching a ceasefire deal with Russia, Trump replied: "Well, look, I don't want to say. I've been disappointed before with this one."
Months earlier, U.S. attempts to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia failed. Kyiv and Moscow later held three rounds of direct peace talks in Istanbul, which were largely inconclusive.
In the direct talks, Ukraine and Russia agreed to several prisoner exchanges, but progress toward a ceasefire was not made amid Russian maximalist demands.
Trump has threatened to impose secondary sanctions on Russia's trading partners if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire by Aug. 8. The measure could impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that purchase Russian oil.
The U.S. leader has already imposed a 50% tariff on India for its continued purchase of Russian oil, raising the measure from an initial 25% announced on July 31.
As Trump pressures Russia to reach a ceasefire, the Kremlin is weighing a limited "air truce" involving a pause in drone and missile strikes if Ukraine agrees to do the same, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 5, citing undisclosed sources familiar with the matter.
