Trump says he may meet Putin after Saudi Arabia trip

US President also says he has a deal that would end the war in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump while signing executive orders in the Oval Office. AFP

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he may meet Russia's President Vladimir Putin after his trip to the Middle East next month.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Mr Trump said Mr Putin has "a certain respect" for him.

"It's possible, but most likely not – I think we'll meet with him shortly thereafter," he said when asked if he would meet the Russian leader in Saudi Arabia, where several rounds of US-brokered negotiations have taken place.

Mr Trump also told reporters that he believed he had a deal with both Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that would end the war.

However, he implied that dealing with Mr Zelenskyy had been more difficult than he had expected.

"I think we have a deal with Russia; we have to get a deal with Zelenskyy, and I hope that Zelenskyy – I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelenskyy," he said.

"So far, it's a bit harder, but that's OK. But I think we have a deal with both."

Mr Trump, under his "America first" approach to foreign policy, has sought closer relations with Mr Putin, while antagonising Mr Zelenskyy.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff has held several meetings with Mr Putin, with the next set to place on Friday, according to media reports.

Mr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said he would not accept giving up Ukrainian territory to Russia under any deal aimed at ending the war, which began more than three years ago.

Mr Trump called his opposition “very harmful” to talks.

“Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognise Crimea as Russian territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it 11 years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The White House on Tuesday announced that Mr Trump would visit Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar next month on his first major foreign trip since he took office in January.

Mr Trump is also due to travel to the Vatican on Friday to attend Pope Francis's funeral, and he said he has "a lot of meetings set up" with leaders on the sidelines.

To mark the third year of the Ukraine-Russia war, The National looks back at some of the striking images captured during the conflict. Getty Images

Ukrainians working at the site of a rocket strike on the 'Okhmadyt' children's hospital in Kyiv in 2024. EPA

A woman walks past a memorial wall dedicated to fallen defenders of Ukraine in downtown Kyiv in 2024. EPA

A damaged town sign in Orikhiv, near the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, in 2024. EPA

Gravediggers prepare the burial site for victims of a Russian missile strike in Hroza in 2023. Getty Images

Widow Lubov Doroshenko, 67, returns to her destroyed home in 2023 in Bohorodychne. Getty Images

A Ukrainian serviceman of the 24 Separate Mechanized Brigade fires a mortar towards Russian positions, at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region in 2023. EPA

Emergency workers search the remains of a residential building that was struck by a Russian missile in Dnipro in 2023. Getty Images

Ukrainian national flags waving over the graves of fallen Ukrainian soldiers in a military cemetery in Kharkiv in 2023. EPA

A woman walks by destroyed buildings 20 miles west from the front lines of fighting in the Donetsk Region in 2023. Getty Images

A view taken through the broken glass of a window overlooking the site of a damaged residential building in Dnipro in 2023. EPA

Numbers mark the graves of unidentified people killed during fighting at the cemetery in Mariupol in 2022. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen shoot from a captured Russian 152, 4mm howitzer Msta-B on a front line near Kupyansk city in 2022. EPA

A prothesis is adjusted on an Azov Regiment serviceman at a rehabilitation centre in Kyiv in 2022. EPA

Cars drive past the shell of a rocket in Shevchenkove, Kharkiv region, in 2022. EPA

A Ukrainian serviceman rests while travelling with a team of humanitarian volunteers in the Kherson area in 2022. EPA

A destroyed bridge in Kupiansk in 2022. Getty Images

A girl arrives at an evacuation point for people fleeing Mariupol, Melitopol and the surrounding towns under Russian control in 2022. Getty Images

The mother of Ukrainian serviceman Andrii Verkhoglyad holds her son's portrait during his funeral ceremony at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv in 2022. EPA

Self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic militia monitors a section of the road near Avdiivka, Donetsk region, in 2022. EPA

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a warehouse after it was hit by Russian shelling in Kharkiv in 2022. Getty Images

A Ukrainian soldier waves the Ukrainian national flag while standing on top of an armoured personnel carrier in Hostomel in 2022. Getty Images

A man pushes his bike through debris and destroyed Russian military vehicles in Bucha in 2022. Getty Images

Residents of Irpin flee heavy fighting in 2022. Getty Images

A child on a swing outside a residential building damaged by a missile in Kyiv in 2022. Getty Images