Blitz Bureau
US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that plans are underway for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though no timeline has been confirmed for the talks, Reuters reported.
Trump’s statement marks a significant development in US-Russia relations, with both leaders signalling readiness for dialogue.
“He wants to meet and we are setting it up,” he said in remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The president-elect has nominated Keith Kellogg, a former national security adviser and retired lieutenant-general in the US military, to be special envoy to Ukraine and Russia for his second administration.
According to Russian News Agency TASS, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Putin’s openness to high-level talks. “If [Trump’s] political will to resume high-level contacts after he takes office persists, President Putin will only welcome this,” Peskov said.
Peskov also emphasised Putin’s long-standing readiness for dialogue and the importance of such interactions. While Trump has previously suggested that talks with Putin could take place within the first six months of his presidency, Peskov noted that no formal requests for contact have been received from the American side yet.
A spokesman for Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on January 10 that Kyiv expected high-level talks to take place with the Trump administration after the inauguration.
In December, during his annual press conference, Putin expressed a willingness to engage with Trump to explore compromises on issues such as Ukraine. Speaking on the possibility of a meeting, Putin was quoted by Al Jazeera as saying, “I don’t know when I’m going to see him. He isn’t saying anything about it. I haven’t talked to him in more than four years. I am ready for it, of course. Any time.”
