MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin, asked on Monday about a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia, said that a meeting was necessary but that Putin had no trips to the Middle East planned for mid-May.
Trump, who pledged to swiftly negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine shortly after retaking office, said over the weekend that he and his advisors have had “very good discussions” about Russia and Ukraine in recent days.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked by reporters about comments by Trump that he might considering meeting with Putin during a trip to Saudi Arabia this month, said the Kremlin chief had no trip there scheduled, but that “such a meeting is clearly on everyone’s lips.”
“And in many ways we think it is certainly necessary,” Peskov said. “It has to be prepared accordingly and it requires efforts at various expert levels,” including continued contacts between Moscow and Washington, he added
“But so far there are no specifics on this.”
Trump will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE later this month to take part in a summit with Gulf leaders, Axios reported.
Putin has not met a sitting U.S. president since he held a summit in Geneva in June 2021 with Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden.
Putin and Trump have spoken by phone several times this year as the U.S. leader works to broker an end to the war.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou and Felix Light; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
