Trump Says Putin-Zelensky Meeting Will Be Set Up 'Very Soon'

Photo: Daniel Torok / White House (public domain).

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be set up "very soon," in what would be the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since Russia's full-scale invasion began.

"We're making a lot of progress with Russia-Ukraine. There'll be a meeting set up very soon and I think a lot of progress could be made," Trump told reporters after returning from a campaign trip to Texas, where he held two midterm election rallies.

Asked to clarify who would attend, Trump replied: "President Putin and President Zelenskyy. And I think a lot of progress is being made." He did not give a date or a venue, and said an agreement could also be reached without a meeting.

What is already on the table for November

Trump's announcement builds on plans already sketched out by both sides. Zelenskyy said on Sunday that a trilateral meeting between Kyiv, Washington and Moscow would take place in November, aiming to restart stalled peace talks. The Kremlin had previously said that a meeting between the three countries was planned to take place in the United Arab Emirates in November.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on October 25 that Russia was ready to resume trilateral talks on Ukraine after National Unity Day on November 4, adding that the first meeting after the break was likely to be "targeted" and that the main thing at this stage was the resumption of negotiation contacts itself.

Trump also expressed hope that the meeting would be held at the level of heads of state, according to reporting on a video of his remarks. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv has yet publicly confirmed a date, a venue or a format for a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting, so for now the announcement rests on Trump's account alone.

Why a meeting would be a breakthrough — and why it is a long shot

Putin, who ordered the February 2022 invasion, has consistently rejected face-to-face talks with Zelenskyy and has insisted Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine. Trump came to power in January 2025 promising to end the war in 24 hours, but more than a year of US-led talks has failed to produce a breakthrough, with tens of thousands killed.

In recent days, Trump has once again pivoted away from Ukraine and back to Putin, trumpeting what he said was a deal for Russia to sell diesel and reduce prices sent soaring by his war with Iran. He has also expressed frustration with Zelenskyy, blaming him for contributing to higher US energy prices through attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

Diplomatic contacts have nonetheless continued. On October 27, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a phone call with Putin on their own initiative. Stubb described the discussion as "frank and substantive," and Zelenskyy said the two leaders had made it clear to Putin that real de-escalatory steps are needed regarding Ukrainian energy and infrastructure.

What else Trump said on the trip

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff accompanied Trump on the Texas trip, and Trump said they discussed both Russia and the war involving Iran. He also said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss nuclear disarmament, adding that Russia could also be part of those discussions.

For now, the key questions are unanswered: when the meeting will happen, where it will be held, and whether Putin will agree to sit down with Zelenskyy at all. If it does take place, it would be the most direct diplomatic opening in the war's fifth year. If it does not, it will join a long list of announced breakthroughs that never materialised.

Sources: AFP, as reported by The New Indian Express, Philstar and ANews (Trump's "very soon" remarks, "a lot of progress" quote, November trilateral plans, Putin's past refusal of face-to-face talks, diesel deal context); Ukrainska Pravda, quoting the White House Rapid Response account (confirmation of attendees as Putin and Zelenskyy); Izvestia, reporting a Fox News video of the remarks (hope for a heads-of-state level meeting); Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov via Izvestia (readiness to resume trilateral talks after November 4); Stubb-Støre call via Ukrainska Pravda. No date or venue has been confirmed by Moscow or Kyiv; the meeting announcement is Trump's statement, not a confirmed agreement.