The news comes after Trump on Truth Social touted a “highly productive” meeting between Putin and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Later in the day, Zelensky said Russia appeared to be more open to a ceasefire agreement.
“Russia now seems to be more inclined toward a ceasefire — the pressure is working. But the key is to ensure they don’t deceive anyone in the details — neither us, nor the United States,” Zelensky said during an address.
Trump raised the idea of meeting with the two leaders during a call with European allies on Wednesday, a source confirmed to The Hill. It was not immediately clear when or where the meeting might happen, or if it had been agreed to by all parties.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Russia had expressed an interest in meeting with Trump.
“As President Trump said earlier today on TRUTH Social, great progress was made during Special Envoy Witkoff’s meeting with President Putin,” Leavitt said in a statement. “The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky. President Trump wants this brutal war to end.”
The New York Times first reported that Trump was aiming to meet with Putin and Zelensky as soon as next week.
Zelensky posted on X earlier Wednesday that he’d spoken with Trump following Witkoff’s meetings in Russia.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday afternoon that Russia and Ukraine still need to move closer on their demands for a peace deal before the meeting with Trump can go ahead.
“If we can get what the Ukrainians will accept and what the Russians will accept close enough, then I think there’s the opportunity for the president to have a meeting that includes both Putin and Zelensky to try to close this thing out,” he added. “So, we’ve got to get closer in that regard.”
The Trump administration is set to impose additional sanctions on Russia later this week, and the White House on Wednesday announced it would double tariffs on India over its continued purchase of Russian oil, which it said was fueling Moscow’s war machine
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
