Trump-Putin summit to happen in 'coming days', says Kremlin

The Kremlin said on Thursday that a summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was set for the "coming days", with the two sides already having agreed the venue "in principle."

The summit would be the first between sitting U.S. and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021, and comes as Trump seeks to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

Three rounds of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to yield any progress towards a ceasefire, with the two sides appearing far apart in their demands to end the more than three-year-long conflict.

Trump said on Wednesday he was likely to meet Putin face-to-face "very soon." Trump has moved to mend relations with Russia and try to end the conflict, although in his public comments he has veered between admiration and sharp condemnation of Putin.

"At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement has been reached in principle to hold a bilateral summit in the coming days," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying on Thursday by Russian state news agencies. "Next week has been set as a target date."

He added: "We are now starting to work out the details together with our American colleagues." 

Putin was due later on Thursday to meet the president of the United Arab Emirates, which sources have previously suggested as a possible venue.

Russia's stock market index rose 4.5 percent after the announcement of the meeting.

Zelenskyy calls for meeting

Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia launched its 'special military operation' against Ukraine in February 2022.

Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.

At talks in Istanbul, Russian negotiators have called for Kyiv to withdraw from territory it still controls and renounce Western military support.

Moscow has also repeatedly sought to cast doubt on Zelenskyy's legitimacy and ruled out a meeting between the two leaders until after the terms of a peace deal have been agreed.

The announcement of the upcoming summit comes a day after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow.

Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but Russia did not respond to that proposal, Ushakov said.

"The Russian side left this option completely without comment," he added.

Earlier on Thursday Zelenskyy had refreshed his call for a meeting with Putin - which he says is the only way to make progress towards peace.

"We in Ukraine have repeatedly said that finding real solutions can be truly effective at the level of leaders," Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

"It is necessary to determine the timing for such a format and the range of issues to be addressed," he added.

The Ukrainian leader said on Thursday morning that he had planned to hold "several" conversations throughout the course of the day including with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as French and Italian officials.

"There will also be communication at the level of national security advisors," Zelenskyy added.

"The main thing is for Russia, which started this war, to take real steps to end its aggression," Zelenskyy added.