President Trump talks about the possibility of meeting Mr. Putin directly

According to RIA Novosti, US President Donald Trump said on February 7 that he did not rule out the possibility of holding a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Maybe" – President Trump told reporters when asked about the possibility of holding a summit with the Russian leader.

The US leader has repeatedly said he wants to meet Putin in person, and in early January he said his team had held talks. According to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, there have been no contacts between Moscow and Washington on this issue, but Russia is ready to listen to relevant proposals.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a commentary to CNN that the Russian and US governments have not yet discussed the possibility of a meeting between the two heads of state.

“They did not have any initial contact to discuss whether they should meet, and if so, when and how,” Mr. Peskov said, adding that “there should be no rush.”

President Putin stressed that the goal of solving the problem inUkrainenot a short-term ceasefire but a lasting peace.Moscowwill continue to fight for the interests of the Russian people; this is the meaning of this special operation.

Additionally, President Donald Trump said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about any amount of money that would be equivalent to the amount invested by US taxpayers.

“We told him about some amount of money equivalent to the American taxpayers’ money,” President Trump said at the White House on February 7.

According to President Trump, the US has invested a lot of money in Ukraine and wants to see this situation end. “People used to take advantage of the United States, but they won’t do it anymore,” Mr. Trump said.