Preparations are underway for a face-to-face meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s deputy foreign minister told state media on Saturday.
Sergei Ryabkov said a possible Putin-Trump summit – which would be a clear departure from Western efforts to isolate Moscow over its war in Ukraine – could involve broad talks on global issues, not just the ongoing war.
“The question is about starting to move toward normalizing relations between our countries, finding ways to resolve the most acute and potentially very, very dangerous situations, of which there are many, Ukraine among them,” he said.
But he said efforts to organize such a meeting are at an early stage, and that making it happen will require “the most intensive preparatory work.”
Ryabkov added that U.S. and Russian envoys could meet within the next two weeks to pave way for further talks among senior officials.
CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment on any possible meeting between the two leaders.
Ryabkov’s comments come days after Russian and U.S. representatives – including Secretary of State Marco Rubio – met in Saudi Arabia where they agreed to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties.
Senior U.S. officials have suggested Ukraine will have to give up its goals of joining NATO and retaining the 20% of its territory seized by Russia.
Evelyn Hockstein / AP
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the U.S. and Russian delegations had agreed to establish a “consultation mechanism to address irritants to our bilateral relationship,” and Rubio told reporters that would include a re-staffing of the two nations’ respective embassies.
“We’re going to need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally in order to be able to continue these conduits,” he said.
No Ukrainian officials were present at the Saudi meeting, which came as their beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops, nearly three years after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of its small neighbor.
On Saturday, during remarks at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, held in suburban Maryland, Mr. Trump said he believes the war in Ukraine will end soon.
“I’ve spoken to President Putin, and I think that thing is going to end. It’s got to end,” he said, referencing his talk with Putin earlier this month. “It’s a horrible, horrible thing to watch. I’m dealing with President Zelensky. I’m dealing with President Putin.”
Mr. Trump also said he wants Ukraine to “give something up” for additional aid.
“I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up. And I’m going to try and get the war settled, and I’m going to try and get all that death ended,” he said at CPAC. “So we’re asking for rare earth and oil, anything we can get.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country would not accept any outcome from the talks since Kyiv didn’t take part, and he postponed his own trip to Saudi Arabia scheduled for last Wednesday. European allies have also expressed concerns that they are being sidelined.
Zelenskyy is “not ready” to sign a minerals deal with the U.S., a source told AFP on Saturday, despite growing pressure from U.S. officials. Ukraine wants any agreement signed with the U.S. to include security guarantees.
“In the form in which the draft is now, the president is not ready to accept, we are still trying to make changes and add constructiveness,” the source close to the matter said.
Rubio on Friday spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to reaffirm Mr. Trump’s commitment to ending the conflict in Ukraine, including through “effective action in the United States Security Council,” Bruce said in a statement.
“This call is the latest in multiple high-level engagements between U.S. and Ukrainian leaders to achieve a durable peace,” she added.
U.S. offers United Nations resolution on war
The U.S. offered a draft U.N. resolution that stops far short of a competing European-backed statement demanding an immediate withdrawal of all of Moscow’s forces from Ukraine.
Both are timed to the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which falls on Monday, when the General Assembly will vote on the nonbinding resolutions.
The short U.S. draft resolution acknowledges “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”
Rubio, in a statement late Friday, said the U.S. believes “this is the moment to commit to ending the war. This is our opportunity to build real momentum toward peace.” He said that “while challenges may arise, the goal of lasting peace remains achievable” and that with the resolution, “we affirm that this conflict is awful, that the U.N. can help end it, and that peace is possible.”
By contrast, the draft resolution from the European Union and Ukraine refers to “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation” and recalls the need to implement all previous assembly resolutions “adopted in response to the aggression against Ukraine.”
The General Assembly has become the most important U.N. body dealing with Ukraine because the Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, is paralyzed by Russia’s veto power.
There are no vetoes in the General Assembly, but its resolutions are not legally binding, unlike Security Council actions. Nonetheless, assembly resolutions are closely watched as a barometer of world opinion.
