US President Donald Trump wants a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin “as soon as possible”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Face The Nation.
“At the end of the day, the only thing that can break this stalemate (probably referring to the war in Ukraine – ed.) is a direct conversation between Trump and Putin. He has already openly expressed his desire and confidence that this should happen. And hopefully it will be resolved soon,” Rubio emphasised.
When asked by the host if the leaders are planning to meet, the US Secretary of State said that “the Russians are also ready for dialogue.” Now it is necessary to decide where and when the meeting between Trump and Putin will take place, he noted.
“I don’t know. We have definitely made an offer. The president has already publicly made this proposal. Organising such a meeting requires some work. So I can’t say that it is already planned regarding the place and date. But the president wants to do it. He wants to do it as soon as possible. I think the Russian side has also expressed its readiness. Now it’s a matter of getting everybody together and deciding where, when and what the meeting will be about,” Rubio concluded.
Earlier on 15 May, Donald Trump said that there will be no progress in the Ukraine talks until he and Putin meet.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has spoken of his willingness to meet Putin in Turkey and was in Ankara for talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan, called the level of the Russian delegation led by Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky “bogus”.
Trump did not rule out attending the meeting between Putin and Zelensky, which was expected to take place in Istanbul, if it took place. But the Russian president did not attend. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 15 May that there are no plans for Putin to come to Istanbul now, and there are no preparations yet for a meeting between the leaders of Russia and the United States in the coming days.