Trump says he will ‘probably’ meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia
US President Donald Trump has named Saudi Arabia as a potential host for his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his second term. Moscow has not commented on the statement so far.
The announcement came hours after the two leaders held a phone conversation to discuss the Ukraine conflict and other topics.
“The first time we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia, see if we get something done,” Trump told journalists at the White House.
Trump indicated that several meetings with Putin could take place in the coming months, saying, “We expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia.”
Trump did not name a specific date for what he called “the first meeting” with Putin, but said it would take place in the “not so distant future.” He noted that both leaders know Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and that the kingdom could be “a very good place to meet.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Putin invited Trump to visit Moscow during the phone call. He did not provide a time frame on when this might take place. Trump confirmed that the two leaders had agreed to “work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations.”
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were considered by Moscow as potential venues for a summit between the two leaders, Reuters reported in early February, citing two Russian sources familiar with the matter. Russian officials visited both nations last month, the report said.
Neither the Kremlin, nor Riyadh or Abu Dhabi commented on the report at the time. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that bin Salman and Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, were involved in talks that led to this week’s release of US national Marc Fogel, who was imprisoned in Russia on drug smuggling charges. In return, Washington agreed to release Russian crypto businessman and computer programmer Aleksandr Vinnik from US custody.
