Topline
President Donald Trump on Friday said he wants to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as soon as possible, after insisting that the Ukraine peace talks will not see any meaningful progress until a face-to-face meeting between the two of them takes place.
President Donald Trump signs the guest book after touring the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, … More
Key Facts
Speaking to reporters at the last leg of his Middle East trip in Abu Dhabi, Trump said a meeting with Putin will happen “as soon as we can set it up.”
The president suggested he was prepared to travel straight from his Middle East trip to have a meeting with Putin, but said his daughter Tiffany had just given birth, and “I do want to see my beautiful grandson.”
“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Trump said on a peace deal in Ukraine, saying that on average, five thousand people were dying “every single week” in the conflict.
Trump also claimed Putin chose not to attend peace talks with Ukrainian officials in Turkey, because he was also skipping the meeting.
“I said if I don’t go, I guarantee Putin’s not going and he didn’t go…I understand that,” Trump said.