US President Donald Trump has said he could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon” as officials from the countries prepare to meet in Saudi Arabia for talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
“There’s no time set, but it could be very soon,” Trump told reporters on Sunday ahead of talks between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
🇺🇸🇷🇺 – Trump says he’s meeting Putin ‘VERY SOON’#Trump #Putin pic.twitter.com/6WaDCwaGxa
— IL Libanese (@Dal_Libano) February 16, 2025
“It’ll be soon; we’ll see what happens,” Trump added when asked if a meeting could happen this month.
Addressing reporters after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier sought to temper expectations of a swift end to the conflict, Trump expressed confidence that Putin wants to end the war.
“They have a big powerful machine, you understand that. They defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon. They’ve been fighting a long time,” Trump told reporters after a flight on Air Force One.
If a powerful country like Russia, which defeated Hitler and Napoleon, did not want the conflict in Ukraine to be resolved, it would be a big problem for the United States and for him personally, Trump said.
Trump said that he could meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia “very soon.”… pic.twitter.com/idhEa9qAUA
— East_Calling (@East_Calling) February 16, 2025
“They’ve done it before. But I think he would like to stop fighting.”
Asked if he believes Putin wants to seize all of Ukraine’s territory, Trump said he had asked his Russian counterpart the same question and it would be a “big problem for us” if so.
Rubio said that Putin had expressed his desire to meet:
Earlier on Sunday, Rubio said that Putin had expressed his desire for peace in his phone call with Trump last week even as the top US diplomat cautioned that the conflict would not be resolved oversight.
“Now, obviously, it has to be followed up by action. So, the next few weeks and days will determine whether it’s serious or not,” Rubio said in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation.
“Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace. One phone call does not solve a war as complex as this one.”
Rubio said the specifics of the talks, including the makeup of the Russian delegation, had not been finalised.
“I don’t have any details for you this morning, other than to say that we stand ready to follow the president’s lead on this and begin to explore ways, if those opportunities present itself, to begin a process towards peace,” Rubio said.
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