US President Trump confirmed a nearly 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, describing it as “long and very productive”. The conversation reportedly focused on the Ukraine conflict, with Trump stating that negotiations to end the conflict will begin “immediately”.
Trump made the announcement hours after the phone call, in which the two leaders discussed the Ukraine conflict in detail. He told journalists at the White House that the two leaders may meet for the first time in Saudi Arabia, adding, “We want to end this war.”
Trump did not provide further details or a specific date for the proposed meeting, but stated that it would likely take place in the near future. He mentioned that both leaders know the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman and that the kingdom could be a good location for a summit.
Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitri Peskov announced that Putin had invited Trump to visit Moscow and expressed a willingness to receive US officials in Russia, including in areas of mutual interest, such as the resolution of the Ukraine conflict. Peskov did not provide a timeline for the proposed visit.
Trump confirmed that the two leaders had agreed to “work very closely together, including visits to each other’s countries”.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were previously considered as potential hosts for a summit between the two leaders, according to a Reuters report in early February, citing two Russian sources familiar with the matter. The report stated that Russian officials had visited both countries in the past month.
Neither the Kremlin, Riyadh, nor Abu Dhabi commented on the report at the time. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman and Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, were involved in talks that led to the release of US citizen Marc Fogel, who was detained in Russia on drug smuggling charges.
In return, Washington agreed to release Russian businessman and computer programmer Aleksandr Vinnik from US custody.