Trump-Putin bromance over? POTUS says won't 'waste time' meeting Russian President
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin Photograph: (AFP)
Trump hints Putin summit may be off the table, calling their ties “very disappointing” and saying he won’t “waste time” without a real deal. Are Trump and Putin drifting apart?
US President Donald Trump on Saturday downplayed the chances of holding a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin anytime soon, even as a top Kremlin envoy held quiet talks with US officials on ending the war in Ukraine. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Asia, Trump said he would only meet Putin if a breakthrough seemed likely. Labelling his recent equation with Putin "disappointing", Trump said he won't be "wasting my time" with a meeting that does not involve signing a deal.
Trump-Putin bromance over?
The US President told reporters, "I'm going to have to know that we're going to make a deal. I'm not going to be wasting my time". He added that "I've always had a great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing," Trump said. "I thought this would have gotten done before peace in the Middle East."
Russian negotiator in the US
Meanwhile, Kremlin negotiator Kirill Dmitriev spent Friday and Saturday in talks with US officials, including Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, according to US media reports. Further meetings are expected on Sunday.
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Dmitriev told CNN on Friday that a negotiated settlement was within reach, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he supported Trump’s proposal to base peace talks on the current frontlines. "I believe Russia and the US and Ukraine actually quite close to a diplomatic solution," Dmitriev said. "It's a big move by President Zelensky to already acknowledge that it's about battle lines. You know, his previous position was that Russia should leave completely so actually, I think we are reasonably close to a diplomatic solution that can be worked out."
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The talks come amid rising tensions over new US sanctions on Russia’s energy sector. On Wednesday, Washington imposed measures targeting oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil—sanctions Trump had reportedly delayed for months but approved after the Budapest summit plan collapsed.
Trump said he hoped the sanctions would be short-lived and that "war will be settled." Putin, while acknowledging the sanctions were "serious," downplayed their impact and said they don't "strengthen Russia-US relations, which have only just begun to recover." Still, Putin said he remained open to dialogue with Trump, and Dmitriev confirmed that a meeting between the two leaders "will happen, but probably at a later date."
