Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump could potentially hold a meeting this month, though the Kremlin cautioned on Wednesday that organizing the first direct talks between a Russian and U.S. leader since 2021 may require additional time.
Trump, speaking on Tuesday, expressed confidence that a meeting with Putin would likely take place this month. He also downplayed concerns from Kyiv about being excluded from recent U.S.-Russia discussions in Saudi Arabia, suggesting that Ukraine might have secured a peace agreement with Russia earlier.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the Riyadh talks primarily revolved around Russian-U.S. relations, but he emphasized their significance as a "very, very important step" toward resolving the ongoing war in Ukraine, now approaching its third year.
"This is just the beginning," Peskov stated. "It is unrealistic to expect everything to be resolved in a day or a week. There is a long journey ahead."
When asked about the possibility of a Putin-Trump meeting happening this month, Peskov responded ambiguously, saying, "Possibly. And possibly not," according to the Interfax news agency.
The last direct engagement between a U.S. and Russian president occurred in June 2021 when Putin and then-President Joe Biden met in Geneva. Since then, the two countries have communicated sporadically, including a phone call between Biden and Putin in February 2022 and diplomatic messages exchanged through intermediaries.
Trump’s recent diplomatic moves have disrupted Western strategy on Ukraine, as he has unilaterally initiated negotiations with Russia without involving Ukraine or European nations. He has spoken with Putin and suggested a shift in global oil prices—an area where Russia holds major influence as one of the world’s largest producers.
While Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to end the war and suggested that Putin is open to a deal, he has yet to present a detailed strategy for halting a conflict that has devastated Ukraine, resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties, and heightened fears of a direct confrontation between the U.S. and Russia, the world's two largest nuclear powers.
The recent talks in Riyadh marked the first official engagement between U.S. and Russian representatives aimed at brokering a resolution to the war, which is the most devastating European conflict since World War II. However, neither Ukrainian nor European officials were invited to participate. Kyiv has made it clear that it will not accept any settlement dictated without its involvement.
The roots of the Ukraine conflict trace back to 2014, when Ukraine’s pro-Russian president was ousted during the Maidan Revolution, prompting Russia to annex Crimea. Russian-backed separatists then launched an insurgency against Ukrainian forces in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
In 2022, Putin escalated the conflict by deploying Russian troops into Ukraine under the guise of a "special military operation." He justified the invasion by claiming it was necessary to protect Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine and to counter what he described as a looming security threat posed by Ukraine’s potential NATO membership.
Ukraine and its Western allies dismiss these claims, framing the war as a blatant act of aggression designed to expand Russian control over sovereign territory. They argue that Moscow's ambitions extend beyond Ukraine and could ultimately endanger NATO allies. Russia, however, has repeatedly dismissed such warnings as unfounded.