Peskov names possible meeting place for Putin and Trump
Riyadh was mentioned as a possible location for a future meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump during a telephone conversation between the two leaders that took place on the evening of February 12. This comment was given to Channel One Russia by the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov, BELTA reports with reference to TASS.
"Riyadh was mentioned as a possible meeting place for the two presidents during the conversation," Peskov said. "Saudi Arabia is a country with which we have very constructive cooperation in various areas. Therefore, from this point of view, Riyadh is suitable for the two countries."
The Kremlin press secretary also noted that working contacts between Russia and the United States will be expanded in the coming days. They will be devoted to the issue of organizing a meeting between the presidents of the two countries, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. "Now, after the leaders have demonstrated political will and given all the necessary instructions to their assistants to begin working contacts, we need to be a little patient, these working contacts need to get going. This will be done in the coming days and weeks," Peskov announced.
"It is precisely during these working contacts that the modalities of the very meeting of the two presidents that they spoke about during yesterday's conversation will be discussed," the press secretary of the Russian president added.
Responding to the question of whether Ukraine is considered a full-fledged participant in the negotiations, Peskov said that Kiev will be involved in the negotiations to resolve the situation in Ukraine in one way or another, but there will also be a bilateral dialogue between Moscow and Washington.
The Kremlin representative noted that European participation in resolving the conflict in Ukraine was not discussed during the phone conversation between Russian and US presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. "Rather, the Europeans will need to talk to Washington here in order to somehow stake out their place," Peskov added, noting that the United States is Russia's main interlocutor on this issue.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Moscow and Washington intend to begin negotiations on settling the Ukrainian conflict without delay. He said that he asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, his National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to conduct the negotiations.
Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to meet with Vladimir Putin. He spoke about this during the election campaign in the fall of 2024, and immediately after his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The last personal meeting between Putin and Trump took place at the G20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.