Donald Trump, on a meeting between Putin and Zelensky: “It will be organized very soon, and I think we could make significant progress”

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a meeting between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will take place “very soon,” as part of diplomatic efforts to revive negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

“A meeting will take place very soon, and I think we could make great progress,” Trump told reporters. The statement is the latest public confirmation of the U.S. administration’s involvement in efforts to unblock dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv.

Zelensky said Sunday that a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian representatives could take place in November, with mediation by the United States. The Ukrainian president said territorial issues must be discussed directly at the leaders’ level, while other topics can be examined by technical groups.

Russia announced that a meeting is planned for November in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv also took place in 2025, but without decisive results, as both sides remained firm on their own conditions.

The Kremlin has so far rejected the idea of a Putin-Zelensky meeting anywhere other than Moscow. Russia also refuses a ceasefire before a substantial agreement, arguing that a pause in the fighting would allow Ukraine to rearm.