Putin-Trump meeting set for next week

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are poised to hold a high-stakes bilateral meeting as early as next week, with the location already mutually agreed upon, White House and Kremlin officials confirmed on Wednesday.

The breakthrough follows a three-hour Moscow meeting between Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, which Trump hailed as "highly productive" and marked by "great progress" toward ending Ukraine conflict.

According to Russia Today, the Kremlin confirmed that a specific venue has been secured for the Trump-Putin meeting. CNN reported that two senior White House officials stated that Trump agreed to the summit after Witkoff relayed Putin's invitation during a post-mission briefing.

Putin said on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates is a possible site for the meeting.

Trump conditioned his participation on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's inclusion in subsequent talks, potentially setting the stage for an unprecedented trilateral summit. Putin said that he was not "on the whole" against meeting Zelensky, adding that "certain conditions should be created "for such a meeting.

RT reported that Putin and Witkoff's extended talks on Wednesday focused on exchanging "signals "regarding Ukraine and broader US-Russia strategic relations, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. Within hours, Trump announced on Truth Social that the discussions had achieved "great progress" and that European allies universally endorsed ending the conflict. Notably, Zelensky acknowledged after a call with Trump, "It seems Russia is now more inclined to a ceasefire. The pressure on them works."

Despite the diplomatic optimism, the White House reiterated that secondary sanctions targeting Russian oil buyers will proceed on Friday, as previously threatened.

In a parallel move, Trump escalated pressure by imposing a 25 percent tariff hike on Indian goods, raising total duties to 50 percent, citing India's continued import of Russian energy. Additional measures against Moscow's "shadow oil tanker fleet "are also under consideration.

The potential summit would represent the first face-to-face meeting between a sitting US president and Putin since June 2021. Its timing is strategically critical. Trump faces domestic pressure to fulfill his campaign pledge to end Ukraine conflict, while Putin navigates between battlefield gains and escalating economic constraints. European leaders, briefed by Trump on Wednesday, expressed tacit support but are excluded from the proposed talks, a signal of Washington's unilateral diplomatic push, analysts said.