Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday described the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as 'one of the suitable' venues for an upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump. 'We have many friends who are ready to help us organize events of this kind. One of our friends is the president of the United Arab Emirates,' Putin told journalists in the Kremlin following a meeting with his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who arrived in Moscow on an official visit.

According to Anadolu Agency, Putin expressed that both Moscow and Washington have shown interest in such a meeting, with who initiated it being 'no longer important.' Regarding a potential trilateral meeting that could also include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Putin stated that he has nothing against such a meeting but emphasized the need to create the necessary conditions for such talks.

US authorities have not immediately commented on Putin's remarks. Putin's comments came shortly after Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov announced a deal in principle between Moscow and Washington to hold a meeting between Putin and Trump 'in the coming days.'

Ushakov mentioned that both sides also agreed, in principle, on the venue of the talks, with further details to be provided later. He specifically pointed to next week as a potential time frame for the summit. This meeting would mark the first face-to-face encounter between the serving Russian and US presidents since a June 2021 meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, between Putin and then-US President Joe Biden.