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A summit between President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin would come as the United States has urged Russia to agree to a cease-fire in Ukraine or face new sanctions.
Aug. 7, 2025, 5:10 a.m. ET
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has agreed to meet with President Trump “in the coming days,” a top Kremlin aide said on Thursday, as the White House pushes for a cease-fire in Ukraine.
The aide, Yuri Ushakov, Mr. Putin’s foreign policy adviser, confirmed reports on Wednesday that Mr. Trump said he planned to meet the Russian leader in person as soon as next week and to follow up with a meeting with Mr. Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
“The American side has suggested, and we have agreed in principle, to hold a high-level bilateral meeting, that is, a meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump,” Mr. Ushakov told Russian news agencies on Thursday. He declined to discuss the idea of a three-way summit with Mr. Zelensky.
Mr. Ushakov did not give an exact date for the meeting, saying only that it was “hard to say how much time the preparations for such an important meeting would take.” Russia and the United States have agreed on the place to meet but will not be disclosing it at this time, Mr. Ushakov added.
The confirmation of a potential sit-down between the American and Russian leaders comes a day after Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s envoy, held talks with Mr. Putin at the Kremlin.
It was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic activity since the White House issued an ultimatum for Russia: Either agree to a cease-fire in Ukraine or face new sanctions.
Meeting with Mr. Trump would be something of another minor victory for Mr. Putin, who had been largely isolated by NATO leaders over the invasion of Ukraine until Mr. Trump started phone conversations with the Russian leader after coming to office.
If the meeting goes ahead, it would be the first in-person summit between an American and Russian president in more than four years.
