Trump administration officials to meet with Russian counterparts on Ukraine war

Donald Trump tells reporters a meeting with Putin could be imminent; Russian and US officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss the Ukraine war in a sign the US is eager for an agreement.

Donald Trump says he may meet Vladimir Putin ‘very soon.’ Picture: AP.

Donald Trump has said he could meet “very soon” with Vladimir Putin, adding he believes his Russian counterpart genuinely wants to stop fighting in Ukraine.

As top US officials leave for Saudi Arabia for talks with Russian envoys on how to end the war in Ukraine, Mr Trump told reporters: “No time set, but it could be very soon,” when asked whether there was an update on a potential upcoming meeting in Saudi Arabia between the two leaders.

Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, confirmed that he was travelling Sunday with national security adviser Mike Waltz. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Jerusalem and is scheduled to head to Saudi Arabia on Monday morning, in a strong signal that the Trump administration is eager to push for an agreement.

“I am going tonight,” Witkoff told Fox News. “I’ll be travelling there with the national security adviser, and we’ll be having meetings at the direction of the president, and hopefully we’ll make some really good progress.”

The arrangements for the US-Russia meeting were firmed up following a Friday call between Rubio and Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, which Moscow said was at the initiative of the Americans.

The State Department said that the two diplomats had discussed “the opportunity to potentially work together on a number of other bilateral issues.” The rapid push to convene US-Russian talks followed a Wednesday call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that his country be involved in any talks about ending the war, which escalated following Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of his country.

Zelensky told the NBC television show “Meet the Press” that Ukraine must be at the table and that it was important that European nations be represented as well.

“At the table, it’s very important to hear America, Europe, Ukraine, Russia,” he said.

The Trump administration’s Ukraine envoy, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, said at a security conference in Munich Saturday that he did not foresee a direct role for European nations in the talks, but that Ukraine would be at the negotiating table when formal peace talks are held.

Those comments alarmed European officials, who say that the outcome of the Ukraine war is a paramount concern for security on the continent.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that he would host an urgent meeting of European leaders on Monday to discuss the situation in Ukraine and European security. The meeting will include the leaders of Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, as well as the Secretary-General of NATO, among others.

Dow Jones