Trump Says He Is Setting Up a Meeting With Putin

The Kremlin appeared to confirm that a summit was being planned

President-elect Donald Trump said he is working on setting up a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In response, Moscow said Putin is willing to sit down with Trump without preconditions.

On Friday, Trump was asked about potentially meeting Putin or Chinese President Xi Jinping. “To be determined,” the President-elect said, referring to a summit with Xi. He added, “But President Putin wants to meet. He’s said that even publicly, and we have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not have any details about a meeting between Trump and Putin to share, but indicated there may be some diplomatic progress. “We see that Mr. Trump also declares his readiness to solve problems through dialogue. We welcome this,” he explained. “Apparently, after Mr. Trump enters the Oval Office, there will be some movement.”

Peskov added, “no conditions are required” to begin talks. President Joe Biden and President Zelensky have maintained that Russian troops must withdraw from Ukraine to end the war. The preconditions for negotiations has resulted in no diplomacy between Washington, Kiev, and Moscow.

On the campaign trail, Trump often lamented the massive loss of life from the war in Ukraine and pledged to bring the conflict to a close on his first day in office. However, since winning the election in November, Trump has tapped a number of war hawks to staff his new administration.

The incoming administration includes retired Gen. Keith Kellogg as envoy to the war in Ukraine. Kellogg has been critical of the Biden administration for not providing Kiev with enough support.

Any deal to end the war in Ukraine will likely require the Trump team to back away from the hardline negotiation positions of the Biden administration. The current White House is refusing to take NATO membership for Kiev off the table or end weapon shipments to Ukraine. Additionally, Biden and Zelensky demanded Putin relinquish all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and the Donbas.

From Moscow’s perspective, it does not plan to give back the five Ukrainian territories that it annexed or allow Kiev to join NATO.

While Trump has not detailed his plan for Ukraine, statements from members of his incoming administration suggest there will still be significant gaps between Washington and Moscow. The Financial Times reported that the Trump admin will continue the arms shipments to Ukraine, believing it establishes “peace through strength.”