Two-way traffic: what does the future meeting between Putin and Trump change?

Tension is growing in global political circles in anticipation of a future meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Moscow's official confirmation of the preparation of such negotiations became the main news on August 7. Experts interviewed by Izvestia see this dialogue as a real chance to de-escalate the Ukrainian conflict, however, they point to serious obstacles, the main of which is the bellicose position of Europe. A face—to-face meeting between the two leaders may also give an impetus to cooperation between the Russian Federation and the United States, the State Duma told Izvestia. In the future, they are ready to receive American congressmen there. At the same time, the West is counting on a trilateral summit between Putin, Trump and Zelensky. How likely it is and what to expect from a possible dialogue between the leaders of Russia and the United States can be found in the Izvestia article.

Will Trump and Putin be able to make progress on the Ukrainian crisis

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump may discuss the Ukrainian issue next week during a personal meeting. This was announced on August 7 by Russian Presidential Adviser Yuri Ushakov following a reception in the Kremlin by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. He added: at Washington's suggestion, Russia and the United States agreed to hold a meeting between Putin and Trump. Ushakov later said, "There was an offer from the Americans, which we consider quite acceptable."

It is not specified what exactly is contained in the proposal. At the same time, after the conversation between Putin and Witkoff on August 6, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that territorial issues would become "key elements" in resolving the Ukrainian conflict. According to him, despite the "good day", "there is still a lot of work to be done on this issue."

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for the Middle East Stephen Witkoff during a meeting, August 6, 2025

Photo: RIA Novosti/Gavriil Grigorov

The meeting place has not yet been announced, but, according to Yuri Ushakov, it has already been agreed. Vladimir Putin said that the UAE could become a suitable platform for negotiations. At the same time, Turkey, where three rounds of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations had previously taken place, and Saudi Arabia should not be excluded from the list. In February 2025, the first meeting of the Russian and US delegations took place there after a long break. Switzerland, where the last Russian-US summit was held in 2021, also declared its readiness to facilitate personal negotiations.

"The Federal Council has taken note of various statements regarding the upcoming meeting of the leaders of the United States, Donald Trump, the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky," Pierre—Alain Elchinger, the official representative of the country's Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia. In this context, Switzerland confirms its readiness, if necessary and at the request of the parties, to maintain dialogue and provide "good offices" in accordance with its tradition of promoting peace and diplomacy.

Reaction to possible talks between Putin and Trump

Some Western media reacted quite sharply to the news about the upcoming negotiations. So, CNN stated the likelihood that "Putin is leading Trump by the nose again," so there will be no progress following the meeting. Opponents of Russia are trying to disrupt the dialogue between Moscow and Washington, said Kirill Dmitriev, special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries. He stressed that the upcoming meeting could become a key historical event.

"We are currently engaged in a very important dialogue with the United States in various areas," he said.

Thomas Graham, a former Russian aide to U.S. President George W. Bush, believes that the meeting between Putin and Trump will lead to "tremendous" progress on the Ukrainian issue.

"We should expect an agreed roadmap for resolving the Ukrainian conflict and normalizing Russian—American relations from the meeting between Putin and Trump," he told Izvestia.

By the way, the deadline set by Trump for resolving the Ukrainian crisis expires on August 8. After that, the head of the White House promised to impose secondary duties of "about 100%" against Russia and its partners if the parties do not make progress. On the evening of August 6, Marco Rubio said that in the next 24-36 hours, Trump will decide whether to impose new sanctions.

Before Witkoff's visit to Moscow, the possibility of an air truce in Ukraine was also actively discussed in the Western media. However, following the negotiations, no statements were made in this regard.

Vladimir Putin probably intends to delay the imposition of sanctions by the United States, but in return he will not make any concessions, Richard Bensel, a professor at Cornell University in New York, told Izvestia. Trump has no reason to abandon the threat of sanctions, but he, out of habit, can postpone them in exchange for Putin's support for the importance of negotiations with Ukraine, the expert believes.

It is important for Trump to hold a new summit himself, because in this way it is possible to show some success in negotiations with Russia, American political scientist Malek Dudakov told Izvestia. "If we manage to agree on something else, it will be absolutely wonderful for Trump," the expert predicts.

— It is important for Russia to change the position of the Trump administration and convince it to seriously address the root causes of the current conflict. Then we can say that there is a chance to de—escalate the Ukrainian crisis," Dudakov said.

A new meeting between the two presidents should be treated with restrained optimism, says Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"Even if they come to an agreement on Ukraine, there remains Europe, which supports Ukraine, and the possibility of pressure on Europe from Trump is also limited," the expert told Izvestia.

By the way, The Washington Post, citing senior EU officials, reported that European officials were confused by the news about plans for a meeting between Putin and Trump.

At the same time, the West is also lobbying for the idea of holding a trilateral meeting of the presidents of the Russian Federation, the United States and Ukraine. The New York Post reported that Trump would meet with Putin only if he also held talks with Zelensky. The State Department has not confirmed this information. Later that night, Trump said he was ready to meet with Putin, even if he was not going to meet with Zelensky yet. Interestingly, the Russian leader allows a conversation with the head of the regime in Kiev, but emphasizes that certain conditions must be created for this.

Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky said that Kiev was not afraid of high-level meetings. "It's time to end the war. Thank you to everyone who helps!" he wrote on his Telegram channel. It is likely that Zelensky makes such statements in order to later accuse Russia if the necessary agreements are not reached after the meeting, Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.

How the meeting between Putin and Trump will change relations between Russia and the United States

A possible meeting between the two leaders will greatly contribute to interparliamentary cooperation between Moscow and Washington, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia, urging nevertheless not to get ahead of ourselves. He also expressed his willingness to receive American congressmen in Russia.

- yes. I meet with them regularly. It's just that it's on a low profile," the deputy said.

In addition to the Ukrainian issue, Russia and the United States may discuss a number of other topics. So, during a telephone conversation in July 2025, Trump and Putin talked about the situation in the Middle East, and also touched upon joint projects in the field of energy and space, Ushakov said at the time.

Konstantin Blokhin noted that success should be expected at the upcoming meeting not on Ukraine, but on Russian-American relations. He recalled that last week, for the first time in the last seven years, head of Roscosmos Dmitry Bakanov and NASA Director Sean Duffy held face-to-face talks.

— Plus, Russia can offer the United States the extraction of rare earth metals. Because now the leader in the extraction of rare earths is China, the main geopolitical opponent of the United States. The United States is trying to make up for lost time in this area," the expert said.

Finally, Putin may again offer Trump mediation services to resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear weapons. This topic was raised during a telephone conversation between the two leaders in June 2025.