Putin's aide: Russia, US lay groundwork for major summit

Preparations for a forthcoming summit between Russia and the United States are underway, with teams from both President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump set to begin working on its substance, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told journalists.

“It is necessary to thoroughly work through the [summit’s] content, and appropriate instructions will be given to the relevant teams,” Ushakov said, indicating the high-level nature of the meeting and the importance Moscow places on its outcome, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian press.

He stressed the need to ensure that the summit results in concrete agreements, describing such agreements as "tangible outcomes of this most important Russian-American meeting at the highest level."

Ushakov’s remarks came shortly after a phone conversation between President Putin and President Trump that lasted more than two hours. According to Russian sources, Putin took the call from the new building of the Sirius Educational Centre’s music school in Sochi. The Russian president described the exchange as “very substantive” and “quite candid,” signalling a depth of discussion that likely included both strategic and regional issues.

On May 17, President Trump said he was hopeful that, following his phone calls with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, military hostilities in the war zone could be halted. His comments indicated a renewed push from the Trump administration to broker a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict.

Just a day earlier, on May 16, Russian and Ukrainian representatives held their first direct talks since 2022 in Istanbul. The Russian delegation was led by Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky, who expressed satisfaction with the discussions. In the joint statement released after the meeting, it was announced that both sides had agreed to conduct a large-scale prisoner exchange involving 1,000 individuals from each side.

Additionally, Ukraine requested direct talks between the heads of state, a proposal that Russia noted and acknowledged as under consideration, though no official commitment was made.

Meanwhile, the White House had earlier confirmed that President Trump is open to a face-to-face meeting with President Putin. If it takes place, the summit would mark a significant diplomatic moment, potentially altering the course of the war in Ukraine and impacting broader geopolitical dynamics.

By Tamilla Hasanova