Russia and the United States have agreed to hold a bilateral meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in the coming days, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on August 7. According to him, preparations for the summit are already underway: “We are now beginning detailed coordination with our American colleagues.”
The meeting could take place as early as next week. However, Ushakov noted that the exact timeline remains uncertain. The venue has been agreed upon but will be announced later.
Ushakov also said that during talks in Moscow on August 6, U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff raised the idea of a trilateral summit involving the leaders of Russia, the United States, and Ukraine. Moscow, however, did not respond to the proposal.
According to U.S. media, the initiative to organize a meeting between Putin and Trump originated on the Russian side—discussions reportedly took place during Putin’s meeting with Witkoff. As reported by The New York Times, following his envoy’s visit to Moscow, Trump informed the leaders of Ukraine and European countries that he first intends to hold a one-on-one meeting with Putin, before pursuing trilateral talks involving Volodymyr Zelensky.
On August 6, Trump told reporters he hoped to speak “very soon” directly with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine.