The official cautioned that a meeting has not been scheduled yet and no location has been determined. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.
The White House said Trump was also open to a meeting with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A meeting between Putin and Trump would be their first since Trump returned to office this year. It would be a significant milestone in the 3-year-old war, though there’s no promise such a meeting would lead to the end of the fighting since Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on their demands.
Trump, appearing before reporters later at the White House, didn’t answer questions about a potential location for a meeting but when asked about a summit with Putin and Zelenskyy, said “there’s a very good prospect that they will” meet.
The president declined to predict how close he was to reaching a deal to end the fighting, saying, “I’ve been disappointed before with this one.”
Rubio lowers expectations for a meeting
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was asked in an interview on Fox Business about a potential Trump-Putin meeting, said “a lot has to happen before that can occur.”
Rubio said the U.S. would be having talks with its European allies and the Ukrainians over the next few days. He said Trump meeting directly with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine would help close an agreement, but said, “We’ve got to get close enough to that point so that a meeting like that will be productive and worth doing.”
“Today was a good day, but we’ve got a lot of work ahead," he said. "There’s still many impediments to overcome.”
