White House Outlines Terms for Trump-Putin Meeting

President Donald Trump is sending a clear message to the Kremlin no peace summit without Ukraine at the table.

On Thursday, the White House confirmed that Trump will not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin unless the Russian leader first agrees to sit down face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The condition, laid out by a senior administration official, comes just days before Trump’s Friday deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal or face sweeping new tariffs.

The announcement came in direct response to claims from Moscow that a Trump-Putin summit was already in the works. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters Thursday that the summit “will take place in the coming days,” and that a location had been chosen.

Not so fast, says the White House.

“No location has been confirmed, and President Trump has not agreed to any meeting unless President Putin also agrees to meet with President Zelensky,” a senior White House official told The New York Post. ABC News confirmed the report, citing internal administration sources.

This isn’t just a diplomatic technicality. It’s a power move.

Trump is drawing a hard line not only pushing for peace between Russia and Ukraine, but forcing Putin to publicly acknowledge Zelensky as a legitimate head of state, something the Russian regime has refused to do since the war began in 2022.

Meanwhile, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow for three hours on Wednesday. Witkoff later briefed Trump and relayed discussions on a potential ceasefire, strategic cooperation, and the urgent need to deescalate the war.

Trump reportedly told Zelensky and key European leaders in a follow-up call that he wants only two people in the room for any peace negotiations: himself and Putin with Zelensky present as a condition.

“Today was a good day, but we got a lot of work ahead,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “There are still many impediments to overcome.”

This isn’t just diplomacy it’s strategy.

• Putin has repeatedly refused to meet with Zelensky, dismissing him as illegitimate after Ukraine postponed elections under martial law.

• Trump has given Russia until Friday to reach a peace deal or face secondary tariffs, targeting countries that continue to prop up Moscow by buying Russian oil.

• India and China, major Russian oil buyers, could soon find themselves facing crippling import tariffs if Trump’s deadline passes without resolution.

Let’s be clear: Biden never got close to this kind of leverage. The war in Ukraine has dragged on for nearly three years with billions in U.S. aid squandered and no end in sight. Under Trump’s leadership, there’s a real possibility of ending this war and it’s being done without a single American boot on the ground.

Putin may think he’s calling the shots, but Trump is the one setting the terms.

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