A potential breakthrough in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict may be on the horizon, as Moscow has confirmed a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The summit, expected to take place next week, is being seen as a critical step in efforts to end the war that has raged since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy, speaking to reporters on Thursday, verified that preparations for the Putin-Trump meeting are underway, though the exact location remains undisclosed. “There are a number of locations, but they agreed to something that they don’t want to disclose. The timeline is, I think, next week,” said Polyanskiy.
Notably, Polyanskiy said he was unaware of any planned meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “I haven’t heard about any meeting planned with President Zelensky, but I am not in the loop,” he added.
The last face-to-face engagement between a U.S. president and Putin occurred in June 2021, when Putin met then-President Joe Biden in Geneva. Since then, diplomatic ties have been strained amid intensifying global sanctions on Russia and an escalating war in Ukraine.
Trump, who returned to the White House in January 2025, had vowed to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of assuming office. However, nearly seven months into his second term, that promise remains unfulfilled.
Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions have been complicated by Trump’s imposition of an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports, citing New Delhi’s continued oil trade with Russia. This move came even as Trump lauded the meeting between his envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Putin, calling it a sign that “progress was made.”
The White House also confirmed that Russia had extended the invitation for the summit, which is now being treated as a milestone attempt to end one of the most protracted conflicts in Europe in recent history.
