Still No Progress Made On Arranging Trump-Putin Summit, Kremlin Says

The Kremlin on Tuesday responded to various international reports saying that progress is being made on preparations for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. From the start of Trump’s inauguration, admin officials have said the world can expect such a meeting to happen ‘soon’.

Additionally, on Monday there were widespread reports saying a likely venue would be one of the Gulf countries known for holding a relatively neutral stance on the Ukraine war, such as Saudi Arabia or the UAE. 

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to these reports Tuesday when pressed by reporters. He downplayed the reports and said simply there’s no new information regarding such a potential meeting, also as there’s yet no agenda.

Of course, the anticipation and expectation is that achieving ceasefire and peace settlement in Ukraine would be the number one priority and focus of such a summit.

“Before discussing a venue for such a meeting we must first determine what the meeting will be all about. There is no news on that front,” the Kremlin spokesman told RBC.

Trump confirmed on Sunday that his administration had “meetings and talks scheduled with various parties, including Ukraine and Russia.”

Additionally, senior Russian diplomatic officials recently made trips to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but the Kremlin is reportedly concerned about hosting a meeting there, given both Gulf states’ close ties to American miliary and intelligence services.

As early as ten days before the Jan.20 inauguration, Trump touted that a meeting was already being arranged:

Donald Trump has said that a meeting is being arranged between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US president-elect gave no timeline for when the meeting might take place.

“He wants to meet and we are setting it up,” he said in remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Trump had also in early January proclaimed, ”President Putin wants to meet,” and that “He has said that even publicly and we have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess.”

Putin himself has generally responded positively, and issued warm congratulatory remarks upon Trump’s election. But at the moment Moscow is certainly in the driver’s seat and with most leverage regarding the Ukraine war.

But Trump is meanwhile threating to strangle the Russian economy by orchestrating a global oil price collapse …which is perhaps more likely bluff meant to gain leverage at the negotiating table. Arab leaders would have to be on board such an unlikely scenario as well, which would be a tall order. Russian diplomats are already likely working overtime to guard against such Gulf assent as well.