Trump on the timing of the meeting with Putin: As soon as we can organize it
Trump at a meeting in Abu Dhabi (Photo: EPA / UAE PRESIDENTIAL COURT)

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would like to meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. as soon as possible, he said during a business roundtable in Abu Dhabi, , according to AFP.

"As soon as there is an opportunity to organize. I was going to do it, I was ready to leave here to go there," he said of the timing of the meeting, but did not disclose any details.

According to New York Post, Trump remains optimistic about the possibility of peace between Ukraine and Russia.

"We will achieve this," he said on May 16 .

ADDED AT 14:35. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on Trump's statement and said that such a meeting is really needed.

"Such a meeting is definitely needed. It is necessary, first of all, from the point of view of bilateral Russian-American relations, and from the point of view of a serious conversation at the highest level on international affairs and regional issues, including, of course, the crisis around Ukraine," he said .

At the same time, Trump's visit to Istanbul is not expected to take place after his working trip to the Middle East. According to Sky News , citing a senior White House official, the US leader is likely to go home to Washington.