Preparations are underway for a face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s deputy foreign minister announced on Saturday. It marked a significant departure from Western efforts to isolate Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.
Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state media that a possible Putin-Trump summit could include discussions on global issues other than the Ukraine conflict.
“The question is about starting to move toward normalizing relations between our countries, finding ways to resolve the most acute and potentially very, very dangerous situations, of which there are many, Ukraine among them,” said Macron.
However, he stated that efforts to organize such a meeting are in their early stages and that making it a reality will necessitate “the most intensive preparatory work.”
Ryabkov also stated that U.S. and Russian envoys could meet within the next two weeks to pave the way for additional talks between senior officials.
Russian and US representatives met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and agreed to begin working toward ending the conflict in Ukraine and improving diplomatic and economic ties, marking an extraordinary shift in US foreign policy under Trump.
Senior US officials have suggested that Ukraine may have to abandon its goals of joining NATO and retaining the 20% of its territory seized by Russia.
Following the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told The Associated Press that the two sides had broadly agreed to pursue three goals: restoring staffing at their respective embassies, forming a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks, and exploring closer relations and economic cooperation.
He emphasized, however, that the talks, which were attended by his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and other senior Russian and US officials, were only the beginning of a conversation, and that more work remains to be done. Lavrov described the meeting as “very useful.”
No Ukrainian officials attended the Saudi meeting, which occurred as their beleaguered country is gradually but steadily losing ground to more numerous Russian troops, nearly three years after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of its smaller neighbor.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that his country would not accept any outcome from the talks because Kyiv did not participate, and he postponed his own trip to Saudi Arabia, which was scheduled for last Wednesday. European allies have also expressed concerns about being sidelined.
Trump appears to soften criticism of Kyiv
On Friday, Trump appeared to backtrack on his earlier comments, in which he falsely blamed Kyiv for starting the war, but insisted that Zelenskyy and former US President Joe Biden should have done more to reach an agreement with Putin.
“Russia attacked, but they shouldn’t have let him attack,” he said in a radio interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, referring to the Russian president.
Russia’s army crossed the border on February 24, 2022, in a full-fledged invasion that Putin attempted to justify by falsely claiming it was necessary to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from entering NATO.
Later on Friday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the war “doesn’t affect the United States very much.” It’s on the opposite side of the ocean. It definitely has an impact on Europe.”
On Saturday, Trump acknowledged that Russia had invaded Ukraine. “Russia was not going to go in. “And they went in for a variety of reasons, and so many people died,” Trump said during a Saturday afternoon speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Washington.
Trump acknowledged that he is “dealing with” Putin and Zelenskyy.
“I think that thing is going to end,” Trump said of the war. “It’s got to end.”
On Saturday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán appeared to echo some of the Trump administration’s recent rhetoric on Ukraine, despite the fact that his position differs sharply from the European mainstream.
He described Hungary’s war-torn neighbor as a “buffer zone” between Russia and NATO, implying that Budapest could stymie Kyiv’s efforts to join the EU.
Ukraine’s European allies
Thousands of people waving blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags marched to the Russian Embassy in London on Saturday, demanding more support and a seat at the negotiating table to end the three-year war.
Protesters chanted, “Trump, you’re no friend, you’re a traitor to Ukraine.” Organizers advocated for the withdrawal of Russian troops and increased military aid to strengthen Kyiv’s position.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled to visit Washington next week for talks on Ukraine. He has made it clear that no decisions about the country’s future can be made without Kyiv’s involvement.
Starmer spoke with Zelenskyy on Saturday and reiterated “the U.K.’s ironclad support for Ukraine and commitment to securing a just and enduring peace to bring an end to Russia’s illegal war,” according to the prime minister’s office.
Ukraine’s EU allies appeared to rally around it, as the country’s foreign minister held a series of bilateral calls on Friday and Saturday, claiming they were intended to coordinate diplomatic efforts during a period of intense uncertainty about Washington’s position.
Andrii Sybiha’s social media posts indicate that he has spoken with top diplomats from France, Spain, Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states, among others.
“Allowing Putin to succeed would have disastrous consequences for the stability and common way of life of every family in Europe and the U.S. The cost of appeasement will be paid by ordinary people,” Sybiha said in a post on X on Saturday.
