Kremlin awaiting ‘signals’ from US on Putin-Trump meeting

The Kremlin said Monday it was still waiting for “signals” from the United States about a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump.

The leaders of both countries said last week they were ready for contact but neither side has indicated when or how.

“So far, we have not received any signals from the Americans. The readiness remains. The same readiness, as we have heard, remains on the American side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The nearly three-year Ukraine conflict has plunged relations between the two nuclear powers to their lowest levels since the Cold War.

Trump, who took office on January 20, 2025, told reporters on Thursday he was willing to meet Putin “immediately” to reach a deal to end the fighting.

Putin on Friday praised Trump as a “smart” and “pragmatic” man, saying the conflict might not have started in 2022 had he been president.

“I cannot but agree with him that if he had been president — if his victory hadn’t been stolen in 2020 — then maybe there would not have been the crisis in Ukraine that emerged in 2022,” he said.

Kyiv has warned against it being excluded from any peace talks between the two leaders, accusing Putin of wanting to “manipulate” Trump.

However, Trump had told Putin to negotiate an immediate peace deal with Ukraine, warning of harsher economic sanctions if the conflict persists.

In a statement posted on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump pressed for a swift resolution to the ongoing war, which he claimed would not have started under his administration.

Trump stressed his intent to fulfil his campaign promise of ending the conflict before his second term gains momentum.

AFP