Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, could meet by the end of February, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He cautioned, however, that the arrangements for a meeting may take longer.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Peskov said that Russia-US talks held the previous day in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, focused on a roadmap aimed at reestablishing bilateral relations, with an initial emphasis on “resuscitation” followed by the “restoration” of ties between Moscow and Washington.
The talks, led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, were the first direct attempt by the US and Russia to normalize relations after nearly three years of animosity under the administration of former US President Joe Biden. Delegations from Moscow and Washington discussed future Ukraine peace talks and a potential summit between Putin and Trump.
The two leaders could meet this month, Peskov said. However, he added that it could take more time to arrange what would be the first face-to-face encounter between Russian and US presidents since 2021, when Putin and Biden met at a summit in Geneva.
“Maybe. Or maybe not,” Peskov said, responding to a question about the possibility of the Trump-Putin summit in February.
Peskov described the meeting in Riyadh as a “very, very important step” toward resolving the Ukraine conflict, while emphasizing that “naturally, it’s impossible to fix everything in a day or a week. There is still a long road ahead.”
Lavrov said following the meeting that the negotiations were useful and that both delegations worked “quite successfully” on improving relations. According to the diplomat, the Russian and American sides “not only listened, but also heard each other” during the talks.
Trump told reporters hours after the talks that he felt “much more confident” about brokering a deal to end the Ukraine conflict.
The US president dismissed Ukraine’s concerns about being excluded from the talks in Saudi Arabia, saying he was “disappointed” with Kiev for being unable to reach an agreement with Moscow earlier.
“Probably,” Trump responded when asked during a press conference whether he expected to meet Putin before the end of the month.
Briefing reporters on the talks in Riyadh, US Secretary of State Rubio said that the two sides had not set a date for a Trump-Putin summit to discuss Ukraine.
