Trump suggests he might meet Putin "very soon" as talks with Saudi Arabia approach

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump stated he could meet with Vladimir Putin "very soon," expressing his belief that the Russian leader genuinely wants to end the war in Ukraine.

“There’s no set time, but it could be very soon,” Trump told reporters, hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio downplayed expectations for high-level talks in Riyadh aimed at ending the conflict.

Rubio is set to lead a US delegation in discussions with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia’s capital in the coming days, as diplomatic efforts intensify with the Ukraine war nearing its third year. Trump, speaking to reporters after a flight on Air Force One, said his team has been in "long and hard" discussions with Russian officials, including Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, who recently spent about three hours with Putin.

“I think he wants to stop fighting,” Trump said of Putin.

When asked if he believed Putin intended to capture all of Ukraine, Trump replied, “That was my question to him. If he’s going to keep going... that would have caused me a big problem.” He went on to say, “I think he wants to end it, and they want to end it fast. Both of them,” referring to both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Meanwhile, Zelensky expressed concerns that Russia might prepare to "wage war" against a weakened NATO if Trump were to reduce US support for the alliance. Trump dismissed these remarks, telling reporters he was "not even a little bit" concerned about Zelensky’s statements.

Trump has frequently claimed he could end the war in Ukraine within a day if he returned to the White House, though Rubio emphasized that resolving such a long-standing, complex conflict would not be easy. “A process towards peace is not a one-meeting thing,” he said in an interview with CBS at the Munich Security Conference.

Rubio is set to lead a high-level US delegation to Riyadh, but it remains unclear if Ukraine will participate. Rubio noted that the details were still uncertain, saying the goal is to create an opening for a broader conversation that could involve Ukraine and focus on ending the war.

Witkoff and US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz are also expected to attend the talks. Trump and Putin held a lengthy phone call on Wednesday, agreeing to begin ceasefire negotiations immediately. This move caught NATO allies and Kyiv off guard, with Zelensky insisting there should be "no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine."

Rubio emphasized, “Right now there is no process,” following a Saturday phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “One phone call does not make peace.”

In a Sunday interview with NBC, Zelensky described Putin as a "serial liar" who could not be trusted in negotiations. Rubio, however, remarked, "I don't think in geopolitics, anyone should trust anyone." He added that the coming weeks would reveal whether Putin is serious about peace.