Trump to 'probably' meet Putin before end of February
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would "probably" meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin before the end of February, CNN reported on Feb. 19.
Since the first days after his return to the White House, Trump has been voicing his intent to meet with Putin to discuss how to end Russia's war in Ukraine as soon as possible.
Answering a journalist's questions at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago about whether the meeting would take place before the end of the month, Trump said "probably" without mentioning a specific date.
Trump spoke to Putin in a phone call for nearly 90 minutes on Feb. 12, holding a separate call with President Volodymyr Zelensky soon after. The U.S. president has vowed to quickly end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine after taking office.
Later, Trump announced that his first meeting with Putin would take place in Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to negotiate an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On Feb. 18, a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other officials in Saudia Arabia, marking the first direct negotiations between the two countries since Moscow's full-scale invasion began.
No concrete decisions were announced following the U.S.-Russia talks, but Ukraine's exclusion from the meeting sparked alarm in Kyiv and Europe.
Trump also previously said he would meet with Zelensky in Washington, but the U.S. or Ukraine have not confirmed any specific plans.
Chris York
