Trump did not provide a timeline or venue for the meeting, which would be the first between the two leaders since Russia’s war with Ukraine started in February 2022.
US President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday he is going to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin "very quickly" after he takes office next week.
He did not provide a timeline or venue for the meeting, which would be the first between the leaders of the two countries since Russia's war with Ukraine started in February 2022.
When asked about his strategy to end the war, Trump told Newsmax: "Well, there's only one strategy and it's up to Putin and I can't imagine he's too thrilled about the way it's gone because it hasn't gone exactly well for him either.
"And I know he wants to meet and I'm going to meet very quickly. I would've done it sooner but...you have to get into the office. For some of the things, you do have to be there."
US Congressman Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser, told ABC on Sunday that the war had become a World War One-style "meat grinder of people and resources" with "World War Three consequences", according to ABC.
"Everybody knows that this has to end somehow diplomatically," Waltz, a Trump loyalist who also served in the National Guard as a colonel, told ABC.
"I just don't think it's realistic to say we're going to expel every Russian from every inch of Ukrainian soil, even Crimea. President Trump has acknowledged that reality, and I think it’s been a huge step forward that the entire world is acknowledging that reality. Now let's move forward."
Asked specifically about contacts between Trump and Putin, Waltz said: "I do expect a call for, at least in the coming days and weeks. So, that would be a step and we'll take it from there."
Trump and Putin have so far met five times. Their most famous meeting came on July 16, 2018, in Helsinki, where they talked for more than two hours accompanied only by interpreters.
