Rubio: US and Russia to decide on time and place of Trump-Putin meeting

(Patria) - US President Donald Trump wants to hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin as soon as possible, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, TASS reported.

In an interview with CBS News, the senior US diplomat noted that currently the US and Russian sides must determine when and where such a meeting will be held and what its main topics will be.

“The president has already made that offer publicly. The mechanics of organising that kind of meeting would require a bit of work. So, I cannot say that it is being planned at this moment, in terms of choosing a venue and date, but the president wants to do it. He wants to do it as soon as possible. I think the Russian side has also expressed a willingness to do so. And so now it is just a matter of bringing everyone together and determining where and when that meeting will take place and what it will be about,” he noted.

“Ultimately, one of the things that could help break this deadlock, perhaps the only thing that can, is a direct conversation between President Trump and Vladimir Putin, and he has already openly expressed the desire and belief that this must happen, and we hope that this will be resolved soon as well.”

Earlier, Trump wrote on the social network Truth that he had planned a phone call with Putin at 10 a.m. (5 p.m. Moscow time) on May 19. Trump stated that he intends to discuss Ukraine and trade. Trump added that after the conversation with the Russian leader, he will speak with Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO leaders.

The last phone conversation between Putin and Trump was held on March 18.