AFP, Moscow

The Kremlin yesterday said that a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Ukraine was set for the “coming days” as US-led efforts to broker peace rumble on.

The Russian president named the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a potential location for the summit with Trump, but essentially ruled out a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Trump-Putin summit would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021. It comes as the Republican seeks an end to Russia’s military assault on Ukraine.

Three rounds of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to yield any progress towards a ceasefire. The two sides appear as far apart as ever in the conditions they have set for an end to the more than three-year-long conflict.

Trump said on Wednesday that he was likely to meet Putin face-to-face “very soon”.

They last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump’s first term as US president, but have spoken by telephone several times since the former reality TV star returned to the White House earlier this year.

“Both sides showed interest” in the Russia-US leaders meeting, Putin told reporters on Thursday.

“We have many friends who are willing to help us organise such events. One of our friends is the president of the United Arab Emirates,” he said, standing next to UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Earlier yesterday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that the plan to hold a bilateral summit was “at the suggestion of the American side”.

“Next week has been set as a target date,” said Ushakov, adding that both sides have already agreed the venue “in principle”, without mentioning it.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian bombardments have forced millions of people to flee their homes and have destroyed swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.

At talks in Istanbul, Russian negotiators outlined hardline territorial demands if Ukraine wants Russia to halt its advance -- calling for Kyiv to withdraw from some territory it still controls and to renounce Western military support.

Reports of the upcoming summit came after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow.

Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting with Zelensky, but Putin appeared to rule out direct talks with the Ukrainian leader.

“I have nothing against it in general, it is possible, but certain conditions must be created for this,” he told reporters, adding: “Unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.”

Putin said in June that he was ready to meet Zelensky, but only during a “final phase” of negotiations on ending the conflict.

Zelensky earlier yesterday had refreshed his call for a meeting with Putin -- which he says is the only way to make progress towards peace.

“It is necessary to determine the timing for such a format and the range of issues to be addressed,” he wrote on social media.

He also said that he would hold several other conversations throughout the course of the day, including with Italian officials.