Moscow reportedly rejects Rome as venue for proposed Trump-Putin meeting

Moscow has declined a proposal to host a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Rome, citing concerns over Italy's political alignment with Kyiv.

According to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, the idea for Rome as a neutral venue was put forward by President Trump and had reportedly been discussed with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. However, Russian officials rejected the location, viewing Italy as too closely aligned with Ukraine to serve as an impartial host for high-stakes diplomatic talks.

Earlier, Russian media reported, citing unnamed sources, that Rome would not be selected as the venue for the anticipated summit. The rejection appears to reflect broader tensions in Moscow’s assessment of Western involvement in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“Moscow considers the Italian authorities to be too closely linked to Kyiv, which makes Italy an unsuitable venue for negotiations,” Corriere della Sera noted.

Despite the disagreement over location, momentum for the meeting appears to be building. On  August 7, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov confirmed that a meeting between the Russian and US presidents had been agreed upon in principle.

According to Fox News, sources suggest that the summit could take place as soon as August 11, though the venue remains unconfirmed.

As Caliber.Az reports, US President Donald Trump spoke with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on August 7 about the possibility of meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Rome next week.

According to Italian government sources, if the US and Russian leaders did meet in Rome, it would be at the Vatican City. However, the Russian news agency TASS has dismissed the likelihood of Italy serving as the venue for such talks.

By Vafa Guliyeva