Trump-Putin meeting preparations already underway, Russia claims
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Arrangements for an in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are already underway, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed on Feb. 22.
Trump previously said he would "probably" meet Putin before the end of February.
The two leaders could discuss a broad range of global topics in addition to the war in Ukraine, Ryabkov told Russian state media.
"The question is about starting to move toward normalizing relations between our countries, finding ways to resolve the most acute and potentially very, very dangerous situations, of which there are many, Ukraine among them," he said.
Preparations for the meeting are still in the early stages, Ryabkov said, and organizing the summit will require "the most intensive preparatory work."
U.S. and Russian delegates may hold meetings over the next two weeks in preparation for the Trump-Putin talks, he added.
The U.S. and Russia have already held their first direct talks since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, signaling and end to Moscow's political isolation from the West. Representatives met in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18 to discuss preliminary steps towards ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump announced that U.S. and Russian envoys will hold another round of talks in Riyadh on Feb. 25.
Ryabkov did not provide any details as to a potential date or location for the meeting between Trump and Putin. Trump has said that the leaders' first meeting will take place in Saudi Arabia.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibilities of a Trump-Putin meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during the Saudi Arabia talks. Rubio said on Feb. 20 that a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders would depend on whether "we can make any progress" towards a peace agreement.
Ukraine and European leaders have objected to Ukraine's exclusion from the U.S.-Russia talks. President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would not accept the outcome of any negotiations that did not involve Kyiv's participation.
Trump has already spoken to Putin regarding his goal to broker a quick ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump spoke to Putin for nearly 90 minutes in a phone call on Feb. 12, holding a separate call with Zelensky later that day.
Following the Riyadh talks, Putin announced that he would "gladly" meet with Trump and said he hoped Washington and Moscow would work out the war in Ukraine in advance of their meeting.
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