Updated August 7, 2025 at 8:52 AM MDT
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet President Trump in the coming days, the Kremlin said, with Putin suggesting they hold the talks in the United Arab Emirates.
The meeting would mark the first summit between the two leaders since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022.
A reporter asked Putin, during a visit by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, whether the Russian leader would meet Trump next week and where it could happen. "We have many friends willing to help us organize events of this kind," Putin replied. "The president of the United Arab Emirates is one such friend. I think we will make a decision eventually, and that country would be an appropriate place for a meeting."
President Trump did not immediately comment.
Earlier, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the idea for the summit was proposed by White House envoy Steve Witkoff during three hours of talks with Putin Wednesday aimed at negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. He said it was hard to say how long the preparations would take for the meeting, but Moscow held "quite a positive view" of a meeting as soon as next week.
Russia's markets and its ruble currency both rose amid the news. It comes a day before Trump's deadline for Russia to end its war in Ukraine or face a raft of new sanctions and tariffs on Russian energy exports.
Ushakov also said Witkoff had suggested three-way talks that could include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Asked about the prospect of a Zelenskyy meeting, Putin said he had "nothing against that on the whole, it is possible," but added that they are a long way from creating the right conditions to do so.
Putin's meeting with Trump's envoy
On Wednesday, when reporters asked Trump if he would soon meet with both the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, Trump said there was a "very good prospect" there would be a meeting "very soon."
Both Trump and the Kremlin gave positive signs after Witkoff's meeting with Putin in Moscow.
The Kremlin released a video showing Putin greeting Witkoff with a warm handshake, with Ushakov describing the talks as "useful" and "constructive."
Trump hailed the event on his social media platform. "My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Great progress was made!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come."
But speaking later to reporters, Trump declined to call the meeting a "breakthrough." And he was circumspect about the prospects of ending more than three years of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "I've been disappointed before, with this one," he said.
Secondary sanctions that Trump threatened to impose on Russia's trading partners if it failed to agree to end the war were still expected to be implemented on Friday, a senior administration official said Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
In a sign that some new penalties were already underway, Trump signed an executive order saying he would slap an extra 25% tariff on India over its purchases of Russian oil.
He told reporters there could be further penalties, including on China, which, along with India, is a leading importer of oil from Russia.
Trump's frustration
The news follows weeks in which the president has grown increasingly impatient with Putin over his failure to stop attacking Ukrainian cities, despite months of U.S.-led peace efforts.
Russia launched its ongoing, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, following years of conflict in eastern Ukraine, leading to Europe's deadliest war since World War II.
Trump had campaigned to return to office vowing he could leverage his personal relationship with Putin developed over his first term in office to end the war in "24 hours." His administration made overtures to the Kremlin, voicing support for key Russian demands of Ukraine.
But Trump began voicing frustration over Russia's deadly assaults on Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine. In mid-July, he announced a policy shift: The U.S. would sell weapons to NATO allies in Europe, which would then arm Ukraine.
He also warned that Russia had 50 days to end the war or face "severe" new economic penalties. He said this included "secondary tariffs" on countries buying Russian goods.
Last week, Trump moved the deadline up to Friday.
He has explained that the plan is to starve the Russian war machine of fuel revenue. But speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he questioned whether more economic penalties could push Russia to change course. "You know, they're wily characters and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions," Trump said.
Russia shrugs
Putin has largely avoided addressing Trump's threats in public, only breaking his silence last week with a brief, veiled reference to the U.S. leader.
"All disappointments stem from inflated expectations, as the saying goes," Putin told reporters last Friday following a visit to a monastery in northwest Russia.
"In order to solve the issue in a peaceful way," Putin said, "we need deep conversations, and not in public, but in the calm quiet of the negotiating process."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov downplayed Trump's threat to impose penalties by Friday. He said Russia's economy had grown largely "immune" to Western pressure following more than three years of sanctions.
Trump warms to Ukraine
While President Trump has criticized Russia, his relationship with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has improved dramatically since they had an on-camera argument in the White House back in February.
Zelenskyy said Tuesday on social media that he had a "productive conversation" with Trump on the eve of Witkoff's trip to Moscow.
"Of course, we spoke about sanctions against Russia," Zelenskyy said. "Their economy continues to decline, and that's exactly why Moscow is so sensitive to this prospect and President Trump's resolve."
Zelenskyy also announced that the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark had agreed to buy a combined $1 billion in U.S. weapons and send them to Ukraine.
The Netherlands said it will send American missiles and other parts for U.S. Patriot air defense systems already in Ukraine, valuing the assistance at more than $500 million. The Ukrainians say they urgently need additional missiles for the Patriot batteries to defend against escalating Russian airstrikes.
In an evening address Wednesday, Zelenskyy said: "It seems that Russia is now more inclined to a ceasefire. The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details — neither us nor the U.S."
Charles Maynes reported in Moscow. Greg Myre contributed reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine. Franco Ordoñez contributed from Washington, D.C.
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