Trump Voices Openness to Meet Putin Without Zelensky

2025-08-10 05:56:45

(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump has expressed his readiness to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, regardless of whether Putin meets with Ukraine’s leader, Vladimir Zelensky.

On Thursday, a news agency cited a White House official who stated, “Putin must meet with Zelensky for the meeting [with Trump] to occur.”

However, President Trump quickly dismissed this claim. When asked if Putin would need to meet Zelensky first, he responded, “He doesn’t, no. They would like to meet me, and I’ll do whatever I can to stop the killing.”

Zelensky has consistently urged Putin to engage in direct talks to resolve the ongoing conflict.

Meanwhile, Putin has expressed that he has “nothing in principle” against a meeting but emphasized that “certain conditions must be created” before it can happen.

Additionally, Putin has questioned Zelensky’s legal authority to enter binding agreements, pointing out that Zelensky’s presidential term expired last year and he has refused to hold new elections due to martial law. This has led Moscow to label Zelensky as “illegitimate.”

Trump’s comments followed Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov’s statement that a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Trump could take place as early as next week.

Subsequently, Putin suggested the United Arab Emirates as a potential venue for the summit.

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