Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15 in Anchorage, Alaska. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Moscow has said it is expecting President Donald Trump to take up Vladimir Putin’s invitation to visit Russia.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the state news agency TASS that Putin had extended an invitation to Trump following the leaders’ meeting in Alaska on August 15, which provided no breakthrough on ending the war in Ukraine.
“He publicly invited the U.S. president to Russia,” she said, without specifying a location. She added that Moscow “is expecting Donald Trump to make a return visit.”
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment by email outside of office hours.
Trump and Putin’s meeting in Anchorage in August ended without a ceasefire, peace deal or any significant breakthrough in halting the war in Ukraine.
Trump had expressed hope for a bilateral meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, ahead of a three-way summit involving himself. But Moscow has cast doubt on this happening imminently.
A meeting in Russia between Trump and Putin could further bring in the Russian president from international isolation.
Zakhrova told TASS on Wednesday that Moscow is expecting Trump “to pay a return visit” to Russia. She added that the offer had been made by Putin after his meeting with Trump at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, saying that “he publicly invited the U.S. President to Russia.”
When asked about the possible timing of such a visit, Zakharova said it would be up to the presidential administrations of both countries to decide.
Her comments come a day after Trump said he was “very disappointed” in Putin, and that the U.S. administration would act to curb the deaths in the war, without giving further details.
After his meeting with Putin in August, Trump met with European and NATO leaders, and told Zelensky that Washington would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal. He also renewed a threat to impose further sanctions on Russia if there was no progress.
Meanwhile, Trump’s original 50-day deadline he gave Putin to end the war in Ukraine expired on Tuesday, and nothing has been confirmed regarding a meeting between the Russian president and Zelensky.
Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of Hope for Ukraine, which helps frontline communities caught up in the war, told Newsweek on Tuesday that this deadline was different to previous ones because a meeting between Putin and Zelensky was supposed to be a key outcome of the Alaska summit.
“Trump must act if he wants to preserve his image as the leader of the free world,” Boyechko said. “Putin needs to understand that his unwillingness to end the war in Ukraine will have economic consequences for his country.”
A White House official told Newsweek on Tuesday that Moscow could still face “very big consequences” for not ending the war.
The White House said the U.S. president “will know in the coming weeks what he is going to do,” which could include sanctions, tariffs, or both.
What People Are Saying
Zakharova told TASS that Putin had “publicly invited the US president to Russia…as for all the other details, this is for the administrations of the presidents of both our country and the United States.”
Boyechko told Newsweek: “The 50-day deadline President Trump set on July 14 produced no progress toward peace. On the contrary, we see Putin intensifying his attacks on civilians in Ukraine and he was able to sell to White House as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes against the Russian oil industry.”
What Happens Next
Trump has floated hosting a trilateral peace summit with Putin and Zelensky, which would be dependent on Moscow agreeing to pre-meeting security guarantees.
Trump also said he spoke with Putin and had begun “the arrangements for a meeting” between Putin and Zelensky, although whether any summit will take place, or further economic punishment for Moscow will ensue, is unclear.