Putin-Zelensky Meeting to Take Place This Week, But It Should Have Happened Earlier – President Donald Trump

Putin-Zelensky Meeting to Take Place This Week, But It Should Have Happened Earlier – President Donald Trump

[Washington, July 26, 2025] — Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that a long-anticipated face-to-face meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “is going to take place this week.” However, he lamented that “this meeting should have happened three months ago.”

Speaking to reporters before departing the White House for Scotland, Trump said,
“It’s going to happen, but it should have happened a long time ago. It will happen.”

When a reporter asked Trump what was required to make the meeting happen and whether he himself would be attending, Trump did not respond directly. However, he emphasized that the discussions are indeed underway and that they will take place very soon.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters after Friday prayers that he is working to bring Putin and Trump together in Istanbul to help mediate a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Erdoğan said,
“This week we will speak with Putin and Trump and try to see if we can bring both leaders together in Istanbul.”

Just a few days earlier, on Wednesday, Moscow and Kyiv completed the third round of peace talks in Istanbul. During the talks, both sides exchanged proposals aimed at advancing the peace process. Kyiv has proposed a summit at the end of August, where top-level decisions are expected to be made.

Sources from the Kremlin indicated that a face-to-face meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky would only be possible once the peace talks reach a certain stage. Moscow believes that without substantial progress and mutual understanding, a summit at the leadership level would be meaningless.