“We’ll meet in Saudi Arabia”: Trump Announces move to hold talks with president Putin on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia for their first in-person talks since taking office in January.

The announcement followed an extensive 90-minute phone conversation between the two leaders, during which they discussed efforts to end Moscow’s nearly three-year offensive in Ukraine.

“We ultimately expect to meet. In fact, we expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re gonna meet also probably in Saudi Arabia the first time, we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia, see if we can get something something done,” Trump stated from the Oval Office.

While no specific date has been set, the US president assured reporters that the meeting will take place in the “not too distant future.”

He also hinted at the involvement of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, describing Saudi Arabia as a “very good place to meet.”

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov revealed that Putin had invited Trump and other US officials to Moscow to continue discussions. “The Russian president invited the US president to visit Moscow and expressed his readiness to receive American officials in Russia in those areas of mutual interest, including, of course, the topic of the Ukrainian settlement,” Peskov stated.

The invitation follows Trump’s controversial declaration that peace talks would start “immediately” and that Ukraine would likely not reclaim its lost territory, a remark that has sparked criticism across the Atlantic.