Peskov named possible location for Putin-Trump meeting

Riyadh was mentioned as a possible venue for a future meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump during a phone conversation between the two leaders.

As reported by Baku.ws citing TASS, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated this in his commentary to Channel One.

"Riyadh was mentioned as a possible meeting place for the two presidents during the conversation," Peskov said. "Saudi Arabia is a country with which we have very constructive interaction in various areas. Therefore, from this perspective, Riyadh is suitable for both countries."

Trump himself, after speaking with the Russian leader, expressed his sympathy for the Saudi Arabian leadership as a partner state, noted the Kremlin representative. "It is also well known that Putin has very good relations with the Crown Prince [of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud]," Peskov reminded. "Indeed, they have spent many hours together in conversations, discussing world problems."

Therefore, he continued, Riyadh was indeed mentioned as a possible venue for the Putin-Trump meeting. "But so far, no decisions have been made or recorded at either working or highest levels. So whether it will be 'Riyadh-1' or some 'other capital-1', we don't know," the Russian president's press secretary pointed out.

Peskov found it difficult to say how long it might take to prepare the meeting between the two leaders. "It could be weeks, months, or several months. That's also possible," he explained.

The day before, Putin and Trump held a phone conversation, during which they agreed, among other things, to continue contacts and arrange a personal meeting. Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to meet with Vladimir Putin. He spoke about this both during the election campaign in fall 2024 and immediately after the inauguration on January 20.

The Russian leader's press secretary noted that the Kremlin sees the need to prepare the meeting between the two presidents rather promptly, as they "have things to discuss." However, according to Peskov, there is currently no sequence in organizing this meeting.

Putin and Trump last met during the American leader's previous presidential term - at the end of June 2019 at the G20 summit in Osaka.