The two leaders had a lengthy and “highly productive” phone conversation on Wednesday
US President Donald Trump has named Saudi Arabia as a potential host for his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his second term. Moscow has not commented on the US president’s statement so far.
The announcement came hours after the two leaders held a phone call to discuss the Ukraine conflict and other topics.
“The first time we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia, see if we get something done,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office.
Trump indicated that several meetings with Putin could take place in the coming months, saying, “We expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia.”
Trump did not name any specific dates for what he called “the first meeting” with Putin but said that it would take place in the “not so distant future.” The president also noted that both leaders know Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and that the kingdom could be “a very good place to meet.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Putin invited Trump to visit Moscow during the phone call. The official did not provide any time frame on when a potential meeting could take place. Trump confirmed that the two leaders had agreed to “work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations.”
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were considered by Moscow as potential venues for a summit between the two leaders, Reuters reported in early February, citing two Russian sources familiar with the matter. Russian officials had visited both nations last month, the report claimed.
Neither the Kremlin, nor Riyadh or Abu Dhabi commented on the report at that time. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russia’s sovereign wealth head, Kirill Dmitriev, were allegedly involved in the talks that led to this week’s release of US national Marc Fogel, who was imprisoned in Russia on drug smuggling charges. In return, Washington agreed to release Russian crypto businessman and computer programmer Aleksandr Vinnik from US custody.
