Trump offers meeting with Putin

Donald Trump said on September 2 that he would be interested in meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible peace deal for Ukraine, according to remarks circulated widely on social media. The comments came as U.S. officials were already pursuing a renewed diplomatic track with Moscow after months of stalled negotiations. In the same appearance, Trump also accused Canada of unfair trade practices and said Iran’s ruling system was weakening, folding several foreign-policy themes into a single set of remarks. The video spread online a week after new reporting showed the White House had revived the idea of a Trump-Putin-Zelensky meeting. ### Where did the Putin meeting remark surface? A video posted to X on September 2 by ET NOW showed Trump saying he was interested in meeting Putin to discuss a Ukraine peace arrangement. The clip also included Trump’s comments on Canada and Iran, and it circulated across social platforms on September 2 and September 3. The social-media clip did not appear to announce a scheduled summit. Instead, it showed Trump expressing willingness to hold talks as his administration’s broader push on Ukraine remained active. ### Had Washington already been exploring a Trump-Putin session? Axios reported on August 29 that CIA Director John Ratcliffe proposed a trilateral meeting involving Trump, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a covert trip to Moscow earlier that week, citing two sources briefed on the matter. (x.com) Axios said Ratcliffe met SVR chief Sergey Naryshkin and FSB director Alexander Bortnikov. Ukrainian officials were briefed on Ratcliffe’s talks on August 29, Axios reported, and Zelensky had supported the idea of a trilateral summit even though Putin had rejected such formats in the past. Axios also said White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had held separate talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in recent months. ### What does this say about the state of Ukraine diplomacy? (axios.com) U.S.-mediated negotiations had been paused in mid-February after the war with Iran started, according to Axios. The same report said Ratcliffe’s trip was partly aimed at testing whether Russia’s intelligence leadership could help move Putin toward renewed negotiations with Ukraine. Politico had reported earlier, on August 7, that the Kremlin confirmed plans in principle for a Trump-Putin meeting “in the coming days” after Trump pressed for a ceasefire deadline. (axios.com) Politico said Trump had also briefed European leaders and Zelensky on a possible meeting with Putin and floated a trilateral format. ### What else did Trump say alongside the Putin comment? (axios.com) The September 2 clip also showed Trump accusing Canada of unfair trade practices and speaking about unrest in Iran. In the Iran portion, Trump said the regime was weakening and referred to “65,000 protesters killed,” a figure that is far above several publicly reported counts from earlier this year. Al Jazeera reported on February 21 that Trump had cited 32,000 deaths in the protests, while U.N. expert Mai Sato said more than 20,000 civilians may have been killed and HRANA said it had documented more than 7,000 deaths while investigating nearly 12,000 more cases. (politico.eu) ABC News reported on January 13 that HRANA’s then-current tally was more than 2,400 killed after 17 days of protests. (x.com) ### What happens next in the Ukraine track? September is the next concrete waypoint. Axios reported that Zelensky’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, told local media on August 28 that U.S.-mediated talks with Russia could resume in September. Zelensky had already been briefed on Ratcliffe’s Moscow discussions by August 29, according to Axios, and any further movement toward a Trump-Putin or Trump-Putin-Zelensky meeting would depend on whether Moscow agrees to re-enter negotiations. (aljazeera.com) (axios.com)