Trump says Putin meet not conditional on Russian president's meeting with Zelenskiy

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (August 7) Russia's Vladimir Putin does not have to agree to meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy in order to have a meeting with him.

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Trump seeks a breakthrough to end the Ukraine war and has threatened new sanctions on Russia and its trade partners.
Kremlin confirmed an upcoming meeting between Putin and Trump following a lengthy discussion with Trump's envoy.
The Ukraine conflict remains the deadliest in Europe since WWII, now lasting over three and a half years.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the coming days, the Kremlin said on Thursday, as the U.S. president seeks a breakthrough to end the Ukraine war after voicing mounting frustration with his Russian counterpart and threatening him with new sanctions.

The announcement came a day after Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, held three hours of talks with Putin in Moscow.

Trump has threatened new sanctions against Russia and countries that buy its exports from Friday unless Putin agrees to end the 3-1/2 year conflict, the deadliest in Europe since World War Two.