U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Jan. 13 that he plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "very quickly," adding that the Russian leader "wants to meet" as well.
The incoming U.S. president echoed his previous comments on his intent to meet the Russian leader and hammer out a deal to end Russia's full-scale war, which nears its third anniversary. Trump initially declared during his presidential campaign he would end the war within 24 hours, though he recently extended this timeline to up to six months.
Talking to Newsmax, Trump said that Putin wants to meet as the war "hasn't gone so well for him either."
"I know he wants to meet, and I'm gonna meet (him) very quickly," the president-elect said, adding that the meeting has to take place after his inauguration. Trump also noted that Ukraine is "being decimated" while both Russian and Ukrainian soldiers "are being killed in large numbers."
The Kremlin has already signaled Putin's willingness to meet Trump after he takes office, though no firm date has been set. Switzerland and Serbia said they are open to hosting an in-person meeting between the two leaders.
According to Trump's incoming national security advisor, Mike Waltz, the president-elect and Putin are also expected to hold a telephone call "in the coming days and weeks."
Trump has often voiced sympathies for the Russian leader while criticizing the level of support the outgoing Biden administration threw behind Kyiv. This prompted concerns that the new U.S. leadership might cut a deal unfavorable to Ukraine.
Trump's incoming peace envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said that the president-elect's aim is not to "give something to Putin or the Russians" but to "save Ukraine and save their sovereignty."
Trump said that specific peace proposals are still being worked out. A pitch leaked from his team — freezing the front lines, postponing Ukraine's NATO accession by 20 years, and deploying European peacekeepers on the ground — has already been rejected by Russia.
Martin Fornusek
