The Kremlin comments on Trump's visit to Russia.
The Kremlin has officially commented on the possibility of a visit by President Trump to Russia amid the complex geopolitical situation. According to the Kremlin, there are no concrete plans for such an event yet.
According to RIA Novosti on May 13, speaking to the RIA Novosti news agency, Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov affirmed: A visit by Trump to Russia is not currently on the agenda.
"No. Such a visit is not currently on the agenda," Peskov replied when asked whether the Kremlin was preparing for a trip by President Donald Trump.
The day before, President Trump had not ruled out the possibility of visiting Russia this year. This move is seen as part of efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
In a press briefing outside the White House, when asked whether he had reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the full annexation of Donbass by Russia, President Trump denied it.
"No," he answered curtly on CBS News.
Earlier on May 11, Yulia Mendel, former press secretary to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, revealed a noteworthy piece of information. According to Mendel, during negotiations with Russia in Istanbul (Türkiye) in 2022, Ukraine agreed to "cede Donbass." Mendel stated that President Zelensky accepted this "territorial concession" because it meant the end of the war.
However, the Kremlin has repeatedly emphasized that Ukrainian armed forces must withdraw from Donbass territory. This is considered the most important and fundamental condition from Russia's perspective.
On May 9th, in response to a question about meeting with Vladimir Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the meeting was meant to mark an end to the conflict, not to facilitate further negotiations. He also added that the conflict "is coming to an end."
On the same day, the American leader, in a conversation with reporters, also left open the possibility of sending a negotiating team to Russia. The day before, Trump had proposed a ceasefire initiative from May 9th to 11th. This proposal received support from both Moscow and Kyiv.
Russian President's assistant Yury Ushakov further shared that the decision to cease fire was made after a phone call between the two leaders at the end of April. At that time, both sides agreed that the head of the Ukrainian government was trying to prolong the conflict.
