Putin, Trump meeting set for coming days with venue agreed: Kremlin

MOSCOW, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Russia and the United States have reached an agreement on a meeting between the two countries' presidents in the coming days, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said on Thursday.

"At the proposal of the American side, an agreement was in principle reached to hold a bilateral high-level meeting in the coming days -- namely, a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump," he said. As Ushakov specified, Russian authorities have now launched concrete preparations in coordination with their American counterparts.

The venue for the heads of state's meeting has also been agreed upon and will be announced at a later date, the Kremlin representative added.

The New York Times previously reported that Trump intends to meet in person with Putin as early as next week, with plans to follow shortly afterward with a trilateral meeting involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

During a call with European leaders on Wednesday, Trump reportedly said the meetings would include only himself, Putin and Zelensky, excluding any European counterparts.

"Regarding the possibility of a trilateral meeting, which was somehow discussed in Washington yesterday, was merely mentioned by the American representative during the Kremlin talks," Ushakov said. "However, it was not specifically deliberated, and the Russian side has left this proposal entirely without comment."

"First and foremost, we propose focusing on preparations for the bilateral meeting with President Trump, and we believe the key priority is to ensure this meeting is successful and productive," he said.

Putin held a working meeting with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday, during which they discussed issues related to Ukraine and prospects for bilateral relations. The Kremlin described the talks as "very useful and constructive." ■