President Trump may meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week, according to a top Kremlin aide. This comes a day after the Kremlin head met with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow. Putin’s envoy for investment and economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, and Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, echoed the possibility of the meeting. The summit is part of the Trump administration’s push to end the Russia-Ukraine war that has lasted over three years. The White House said the meeting will only happen if Trump “feels” Putin is “committed” to ending the war. Witkoff’s meeting with Russian officials in Moscow “went well,” and the Russians are eager to continue engaging with the United States. Trump said Witkoff had a “highly productive” meeting with Putin and updated some of his European Allies.
During a call with Zelensky, Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and other European leaders, Trump raised the idea of meeting with Putin in the coming weeks. Trump has been critical of Putin in recent weeks as Russia’s military has continued its attacks on various Ukrainian cities. In response, Trump penned an executive order upping the tariffs on India by 25 percent due to the Southeast Asian country’s purchases of Russian oil.
