Trump Wants to Meet Putin 'Very Soon' When He Returns from Middle East
President Donald Trump said he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin "as soon as we can arrange it," ruling out a face-to-face meeting aimed at brokering an end to the war in Ukraine.
Trump told reporters Friday that he would return directly to Washington at the end of his Middle East visit. The president has previously hinted that he could stop in Turkey to meet with Putin if the Russian leader shows up for peace talks.
Trump has said he is eager to meet his new grandson. His daughter, Tiffany Trump, recently gave birth to a baby boy.
While Trump has teased the possibility of a face-to-face meeting with Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Turkey, lower-level officials are now involved in the talks.
Trump has said his presence is crucial to securing Putin's participation. Zelenskiy has said he also wants to meet the Russian leader in person.
"They all said Putin is going to go, Zelenskiy is going to go, and I said if I don't go, I guarantee you Putin won't go," Trump said. "And he didn't go. I understand that. We're going to make it happen, we're going to make it happen."
Source: Bloomberg
