Putin's spokesperson says meeting with Trump is necessary

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that a meeting between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump is necessary, though no concrete details are available at this stage.

Source: Russian propaganda outlet RIA Novosti; Russian news agency Interfax

Quote: "We have repeatedly said that such a meeting [between Putin and Trump – ed.] is clearly on the radar, and in many ways we believe that it is certainly necessary."

Details: He added that "there are no specifics yet" and noted that such a meeting would require proper preparation. "This requires continued contacts between Moscow and Washington, which have already begun and are ongoing," Peskov said.

In response to a question about the possibility of a meeting in the Middle East with President Trump, who is planning a trip to the region from 13 to 16 May, Peskov stated that Putin has no plans to visit the Middle East in mid-May.

Earlier, Trump had said he did not yet know whether a meeting with Putin could take place during his visit to Saudi Arabia. "I don’t know," he told members of the presidential press pool in response to the question.

Trump added: "I’ll have to think about it. I haven’t thought about it yet."

Background:

• Previously, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington would withdraw from its "mediator role" between Russia and Ukraine if there is no progress toward peace.
• The US State Department later stated that the country would "change its approach" and take on a less active role in attempts to stop the war.
• In an interview with NBC News, Trump suggested that reaching a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia might be undoable due to what he described as "tremendous hatred" between the two sides. 

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