Russian President Putin open to meeting with Donald Trump, Kremlin welcomes talks without preconditions

Kremlin has clarified that Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to meeting Donald Trump, and other international leaders.

Vladimir Putin is open to meeting with Donald Trump, and the Kremlin has welcomed the idea of talks without any preconditions. According to Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president has consistently expressed his willingness to engage with international leaders, including Trump.

"The president has repeatedly stated his openness to contact with international leaders, including the US president, including Donald Trump," he told the reporters. 

Trump, who is set to take office on January 20, has expressed confidence in his ability to broker a quick end to the conflict. He revealed that a meeting with Putin is being arranged, stating, "He wants to meet, and we're setting it up." Trump emphasized the need to end the conflict, describing it as a "bloody mess."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is pushing Trump to support his "peace-through-strength" proposal, which seeks NATO protections and Western security guarantees as part of any settlement.

USA has provided tens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale military offensive in February 2022 and Zelensky said his country would have lost the conflict without this support.

With Putin holding significant influence over any potential ceasefire, the meeting between the two leaders could be a crucial step towards resolving the conflict.