Trump wants to meet Putin as soon as possible, Rubio says
Photo: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that US President Donald Trump wants to hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as possible.
"Ultimately, one of the things that could help break this log jam (likely referring to the war in Ukraine -ed.), perhaps the only thing that can, is a direct conversation between President Trump and Vladimir Putin. And he's already openly expressed a desire and a belief that that needs to happen, and hopefully that'll be worked out soon as well," Rubio said.
When asked by the host if a meeting between the leaders is planned, the US Secretary of State said he believes the Russians are also ready for dialogue. Now, the question is where and when the meeting between Trump and Putin will take place.
"We've certainly made the offer. The president has already made that offer publicly. The mechanics of setting up that kind of meeting would require a little bit of work. So I can't say that's being planned as we speak in terms of picking a site and a date. But the president wants to do it. He wants to do it as soon as feasible. I think the Russian side has also expressed a willingness to do it. And so, now it's just a question of bringing everyone together, and figuring out where and when that meeting will happen and what it will be about," Rubio responded.
Trump plans to call Putin and Zelenskyy
Earlier today, US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he plans to call Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. He said he wants to discuss the war in Ukraine along with several other issues.
"I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday at 10:00 a.m. (local time -ed.) The subjects of the call will be stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week. Hopefully, it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end. God bless us all!" Trump wrote.
Later, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the call is being arranged.
Trump's post also mentioned that after speaking with Putin, he plans to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
