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US President Donald Trump has said he is ready to hold another summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but only when Moscow is prepared to work towards a peace deal to end the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Responding to a question on whether Putin would agree to another summit in the near future, Trump on Wednesday (local time) said that he believed the Russian leader would be willing to meet but stressed that he wanted the meeting to take place at the right time. He'd do it. I want it, but I want to do it when we're ready to do a peace deal, Trump said to reporters at the Oval Office. Trump said he wanted the United States to maintain good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, arguing that improved ties would also be beneficial for business. We want to have good relationship with Russia, Ukraine, with everybody. Be great for business, he said. The US President further stated that another meeting with Putin could potentially be arranged immediately, but he preferred to wait until the war was nearing an end. I want to do it when that war is ending, and I think we will, Trump said. Speaking on the recent developments of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump reiterated his view that the war should have never happened", noting that if he were elected back to office in the 2020 US presidential election, the conflict would not have occurred. He said that during his first presidency, from 2016 to 2020, he had spoken with Putin and believed there was zero chance of the war occurring at that time. "It's a war that should have never happened. If the election weren't rigged in 2020, that war would have never happened. And it didn't happen for four years. I was there 2016 to 2020, and I would talk to Putin; it would have never happened. Zero chance. And when I left, I saw what was going on and I said, 'I think these guys are going to go to war.' I thought it was crazy; it wouldn't have happened," Trump said. Theres tremendous animosity between the two presidents, tremendous animosity. But I think it's going to be pretty close; it's going to be time, he added, referring to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The last time Trump and Putin met to explore a potential end to the Russia-Ukraine war was in Alaska in August 2025. It marked the first direct face-to-face meeting between US and Russian leaders since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Alaska summit ended without a signed agreement or ceasefire, although both sides said progress had been made. Trump said the two sides had agreed on many points, while Putin said they had reached a mutual understanding on key security concerns. Trump has now indicated that he wants any future summit with Putin to be held with the prospect of a peace agreement in sight, rather than simply for another high-level meeting. (ANI)
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