President Donald Trump has revealed that he discussed holding a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia. “We ultimately expect to meet. In fact we expect that he’ll come here and I’ll go there. And we’re going to meet also probably in Saudi Arabia … [and] see if we can get something done,” Trump told journalists at the White House Feb. 12. Trump reportedly said that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, who is the country’s prime minister, could play a role in the discussions between the Russian and U.S. Presidents. “We know the Crown Prince, and I think it’d be a very good place to be,” he said.
Speaking about his telephone discussion with Putin, Trump told the journalists: “I think I can say with great confidence, he wants to see [the Ukraine war] ended also, so that’s good—and we’re going to work toward getting it ended, and as fast as possible.”
Speaking at a press briefing on Feb. 13, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that a meeting between Putin and Trump could be organized quickly. “Definitely, there is a need to hold such a meeting quite soon. The leaders have a lot to talk about. There are many issues on the agenda, which were briefly outlined during yesterday’s telephone conversation. But it is impossible to talk about any deadlines at the moment, because the preparations for this meeting are only beginning these days,” he said, when asked if Russia had begun to form a negotiating group of its own.
Earlier, Peskov said that Moscow and Washington intend to immediately start negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. Trump added that he has tasked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and special envoy Steve Witkoff to lead the talks.
