Moscow: Efforts To Arrange Trump–Putin Meeting Underway

Efforts To Arrange Trump–Putin Meeting Underway, Moscow Says

Ryan Morgan

Moscow is working to arrange a face-to-face meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov announced on Feb. 22.

In remarks he shared with Russian state media, Ryabkov indicated that efforts to arrange the meeting have begun in earnest but will require “the most intensive preparatory work.”

The Russian official said U.S. and Russian envoys could meet “within the next two weeks” to lay the groundwork for the eventual talks between the two leaders.

If Washington and Moscow can arrange for the two leaders to meet, it will mark the first time that a U.S. president and a Russian president met directly since June 2021, when Putin met with then-U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva, Switzerland.

Such a meeting would also mark the first in-person between the leaders of the United States and Russia since Moscow’s troops marched on Ukraine three years ago.

The Ukraine conflict has strained already contentious U.S.–Russia relations. The United States has been Ukraine’s foremost supporter, providing the most funding for Ukraine-related assistance of any country that has supported Kyiv throughout the conflict.

The Trump administration has sought to pair negotiations for a peace settlement in the Ukraine conflict with a broader effort to improve U.S.–Russia relations.

A U.S. delegation comprised of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, and special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff met with a Russian delegation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 18 as part of the ongoing Trump administration efforts to reestablish regular dialogue with Moscow.

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