Moscow, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump could potentially meet in February, although the first face-to-face encounter between a Russian and a U.S. leader since 2021 may take longer to arrange, the Kremlin announced on February 19.
On February 18, Trump indicated that he would likely meet Putin in February and dismissed Ukraine’s concerns about being excluded from U.S.-Russian talks in Saudi Arabia, suggesting that Kyiv could have reached a deal with Russia earlier.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the meeting in Riyadh focused primarily on Russian-U.S. bilateral relations but marked a “very, very important step” towards resolving the Ukraine war, which is nearing the end of its third year. “But this is the first step… Naturally, it’s impossible to fix everything in one day or a week. There is a long way to go,” Peskov said.
When asked if a meeting between Putin and Trump could occur in February, Peskov was quoted by Interfax as saying: “Possibly. And possibly not.”
The last summit between a U.S. and Russian leader was held in Geneva in June 2021, when Putin met with Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. Although Biden and Putin had a call in February 2022, no face-to-face meetings have taken place since then.
Trump has disrupted Western policy on Russia and Ukraine by initiating talks with Russia without involving Ukraine or European powers, engaging directly with Putin, and discussing measures to lower oil prices, a significant export for Russia.
Trump has expressed his desire to end the war and believes that Putin is also interested in reaching a deal. However, he has yet to outline a concrete plan for ending the conflict, which has devastated large parts of Ukraine, resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties, and heightened fears of a direct confrontation between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
The talks in Riyadh marked the first U.S.-Russia discussions aimed at ending the war, the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II. No Ukrainian or European officials were invited, and Kyiv has stated it will not accept any agreement made without its consent.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a Russia-friendly president was ousted during Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution, leading to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the emergence of Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukrainian troops.
In 2022, Putin launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine, claiming it was necessary to protect Russian-speakers and counter the perceived threat of Ukraine potentially joining NATO. Ukraine and the West view the war as an imperial-style land grab that endangers European security, with concerns that Russia could eventually target NATO countries. Russia dismisses these claims as unfounded.