A meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is tentatively scheduled for the end of next week, a senior White House official told NBC News on Friday.
The location is still being discussed, this official said, but possibilities include the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Switzerland and Rome.
Further details and logistics of the meeting are still unclear and remain very fluid, including whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be involved.
The White House official said the Russians have provided a list of demands for a potential ceasefire, and the U.S. is now trying to get buy-in from Ukrainians and European allies.
Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials have long said they would not concede any territory that Russia illegally annexed.
In a statement Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News, “President Trump has been clear since he inherited this war from Joe Biden six months ago: he wants it to end at the negotiating table. At the President’s direction, Special Envoy Witkoff once again met with President Putin to discuss potential paths to peace, and the President and his national security team are discussing those paths with both the Ukrainians and the Europeans. Out of respect for our sensitive diplomatic discussions with Russia, Ukraine, and our European allies, the White House will not comment on alleged details in the news media.”
On Friday, European national security advisers and the White House were expected to join a call to make sure everyone has a common understanding of what is under discussion with Russia, according to a person familiar with the call.
Secretary of State Rubio Marco was expected to be on the call, as well as White House special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg.
On Thursday, Trump publicly acknowledged that a meeting between himself and Putin could be forthcoming, telling reporters in the Oval Office that a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy was not be a prerequisite for a meeting between the U.S. and Russian leaders.
The White House had previously floated the possibility of a trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy, but the Kremlin dismissed that idea on Thursday.
Later Thursday, Putin told reporters in the Kremlin that the idea of a Trump-Putin meeting had been floated, saying, “Interest was shown on both sides. Who said what first — it is no longer important.”
He also spoke about the possibility of himself meeting directly with Zelenskyy, telling reporters that his “conditions” for such a meeting haven’t yet been met.
“I have already said many times that I, in general, have nothing against it. It is possible. But for this to happen, certain conditions must be created. Unfortunately, such conditions are far away yet,” Putin said.
On Friday, Zelenskyy wrote about the details of his conversation with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in a post on X, blaming Russia for the war’s continuation.
“Cyril also shared details of his conversation with the Russian side. Ukraine’s position is absolutely clear: the path to peace must begin with a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy wrote.
He added, “We are ready for this, as well as for meetings at the highest level in various formats. From the very first seconds of the war, we have wanted it to end, as it was not Ukraine that started this war. And it is Russia that is the only reason for its prolongation and the absence of peace.”
A potential summit next week between Trump and Putin would be the first meeting between the two leaders so far in the second Trump administration.
Trump and Zelenskyy have met several times over the last seven months, including during a February Oval Office gathering that ended in a shouting match between Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance.
The two also met on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral in April.
Throughout the presidential campaign last year, Trump often told voters that one of his priorities was ending the war in Ukraine. Over the last few months, he’s waffled between blaming Putin and Zelenskyy for the war’s continuation.
During his Oval Office remarks on Thursday, Trump said that he was “very disappointed” and that he expected Putin to decide by Friday about a potential ceasefire in the war.
“It’s going to be up to him. We’re going to, we’re going to see what he has to say. It’s going to be up to him. Very disappointed,” Trump told reporters.
Garrett Haake, Abigail Williams, Andrea Mitchell, Alexandra Marquez, Jean-Nicholas Fievet and Katherine Doyle contributed.
