US and Russian Presidents could be meeting soon: But is a trilateral summit featuring Ukraine on the table?

The Guardian has just reported that the Kremlin has said planning is being done for a possible Putin-Trump meeting in some days – but rejected reports that the Russian President had agreed to a subsequent trilateral meeting featuring Ukrainian leader Zelensky too.

Yesterday, reports from the US suggested Putin had agreed to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump first and then in a trilateral format, as part of US efforts to bring an end to the brutal conflict raging in Ukraine since February 2022.

But on Thursday morning, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said that the Russian leader had not agreed to the trilateral meeting, adding that Russia is proposing to focus on preparations for a bilateral meeting featuring Trump in the first place.

Possible Trump-Putin summit could happen real soon

Nonetheless, the possibility of the Russian and US presidents trying to come to an agreement on the situation in Ukraine – and Ukrainian representatives not being present in the room – is definitely going to alarm multiple countries in Europe and Kyiv.

On Thursday, Ukrainian leader Zelensky said: “The priorities are absolutely clear. The first is to stop the killings, and it is Russia that must agree to a ceasefire. The second is a format for leaders so that the meeting can work for a truly lasting peace.”

The exact location of the Trump-Putin summit has not been disclosed yet. But it is most likely to happen in Turkey or the Middle East. If this meeting actually happens, it is going to be the first US-Russia leaders’ summit since Joe Biden met Putin back in 2021.