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President Donlad Trump intends to meet in person with President Vladimir Putin of Russia as soon as next week, Fox News has learned.
Trump then plans to follow shortly afterward with a meeting between himself, Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.
News of the expected meeting came hours after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had a “highly productive” meeting with Putin on Wednesday.
TRUMP SAYS HE WILL MEET WITH PUTIN, ZELENSKYY ‘IF NECESSARY’ AMID NEGOTIATIONS TO END WAR
“Great progress was made!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
During their discussion, Putin told Witkoff that he wanted to meet with Trump, who said he would agree if the meeting is tied to a peace deal.
“As President Trump said earlier today on Truth Social, great progress was made during Special Envoy Witkoff’s meeting with President Putin,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky. President Trump wants this brutal war to end.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with Trump on Wednesday alongside other European leaders.
TRUMP, AFTER SKIPPING RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS, WANTS TO MEET PUTIN ‘AS SOON AS WE CAN SET IT UP’
“Our joint position with our partners is absolutely clear – the war must end. And it must be done honestly,” he said.
“European leaders were on the call, and I am grateful to each of them for their support. We discussed what was spelled out in Moscow,” he added. “Ukraine will definitely defend its independence. We all need a lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it itself started.”
Trump has promised to help end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
In mid-July, Trump promised to enforce “very severe” tariffs on Russia if Putin does not enter into a deal with Zelenskyy within 50 days. He then pushed the date up to within 10 days of July 29, forcing the new deadline for Friday.
On Tuesday, Trump walked back the 100% tariff threat amid tough trade talks with India and China.
“We’ll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time,” he added in response to questions from reporters. “We have a meeting with Russia…We’re going to see what happens.”
Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
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