Trump signals "very good chance" of upcoming meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy

On August 6, President Donald Trump announced that there is a "very good chance" he will soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a renewed effort to facilitate peace between the two warring nations.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump remarked, “That road was long, and continues to be long, but there’s a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon.”

Earlier in the day, the president informed key allies during a phone call—also joined by Zelenskyy—that he was contemplating a trilateral summit. Several sources familiar with the call said Trump expressed optimism about a potential ceasefire and suggested that Putin might be willing to enter peace negotiations, particularly in the context of land-swap discussions.

While refraining from labelling the recent developments a "breakthrough," Trump acknowledged the ongoing toll of the conflict. “It’s a terrible situation, we want to get it stopped,” he said, suggesting that the human cost of the war is weighing heavily on both leaders.

This push for a direct meeting among the three leaders follows hours of talks in Moscow between Putin and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. According to officials, the two held a three-hour discussion focused on the conflict.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that any prospective summit would hinge on preliminary progress toward a temporary ceasefire, which could serve as a framework for a broader agreement to end the war. Rubio also acknowledged that territorial compromises from both Kyiv and Moscow would likely be part of any final deal, though he warned that substantial obstacles remain.

“I think what we have is a better understanding of the conditions under which Russia would be prepared to end the war,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox Business. “We now have to compare that to what the Ukrainians—and our European allies, but the Ukrainians primarily, of course—are willing to accept.”

Russia continues to assert claims over Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, despite its forces not fully occupying all of these territories. The United States, in prior negotiations, had floated the possibility of recognising Russia’s annexation of Crimea—seized illegally in 2014—as part of a larger settlement. That proposal also included returning control of parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson to Ukraine while ceding certain areas currently under Russian occupation.

Trump noted that the venue for the proposed summit remains undecided, though the Middle East has emerged as a leading candidate. During a recent visit to the Gulf in May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly offered to host the summit. Trump and Putin last held a bilateral summit in person in Helsinki in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is exploring additional strategies to constrain Russia’s energy revenues as part of its leverage in negotiations. These options could include fresh measures targeting Russian oil firms and stricter enforcement of existing sanctions.

The Kremlin has offered minimal commentary on Witkoff’s visit. Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists that Putin and Trump had exchanged "signals" concerning Ukraine, but declined to elaborate further.

By Tamilla Hasanova