Trump, Putin plan to meet in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine talks; China proposes summit to end war

Trump expects to meet Putin in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine peace talks, sparking concerns about Ukraine's exclusion.

U.S. President Donald Trump revealed Wednesday (February 12, 2025) that he expects to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine peace talks, in an extraordinary thaw in relations after a surprise phone call between the two leaders.

Following the interaction, China has offered to host a summit between the two leaders to help end the war, according to a report.

In their first confirmed contact since Mr. Trump's return to the White House, the U.S. president said he had held a "lengthy and highly productive" conversation with the Russian counterpart who ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

But the move sparked concerns that Ukraine will be left out of talks on its own fate, after Mr. Trump said Kyiv's wish to join NATO was not "practical" — a key demand of Moscow.

Mr. Trump, who has been pushing for a quick end to the nearly three-year war, denied that Ukraine was being excluded from the direct negotiations between the two nuclear-armed superpowers.

"We expect that he'll come here, and I'll go there — and we're going to meet probably in Saudi Arabia the first time," Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office about his plans to meet Mr. Putin.

Mr. Trump said he expected it to happen "in the not too distant future" and added that Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who played a key role in a Russia-U.S. prisoner exchange this week — would also be involved.