Trump announces intent to meet Putin 'very quickly'

Newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin "very quickly" after his inauguration next week, he said in an interview with Newsmax, according to Reuters.

Trump did not specify a date for the meeting, which would be the first between the leaders of the two countries since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

When asked about his strategy to end the war, Trump said, "Well, there's only one strategy and it's up to Putin and I can't imagine he's too thrilled about the way it's gone because it hasn't gone exactly well for him either."

Trump emphasized that he intends to arrange the meeting "very quickly." He says he would have done it earlier, but first, he needs to "get into the office".

On January 7, the American president-elect suggested he could meet with the Russian president "much sooner than six months" but stressed that a meeting before the inauguration would be inappropriate.

On January 9, Trump confirmed that preparations for his meeting with Putin were underway, though no specific timeline was provided. The Kremlin stated there are no concrete plans for such a meeting.

On January 12, it was reported that incoming U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz announced a phone call between Trump and Putin in the coming weeks.