The Kremlin’s response to the possibility of a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin can be summarized as cautious optimism. While spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasized the importance and necessity of a summit between the two leaders, he also tempered expectations by highlighting the need for extensive advance preparation, suggesting that a meeting may not happen anytime soon.

Discussions about a bilateral meeting have been ongoing since Trump took office, with both sides indicating that preparations were in progress. However, recent weeks have seen a decrease in such talk, possibly due to a perceived shift in Washington’s stance favoring Ukraine in peace negotiations.

Trump has now positioned a one-on-one meeting with Putin as crucial for achieving peace, asserting that progress is contingent on such a dialogue. This stance plays into Moscow’s interests of influencing the situation in Ukraine without Ukrainian involvement in negotiations.

In this context, Putin is likely to be interested in meeting with the US president, but the timing will be at his discretion. The dynamics surrounding the potential meeting underscore the strategic considerations and power dynamics at play in the ongoing geopolitical landscape.