Trump says Putin-Zelensky meeting will be set ‘very soon,’ says timing of ending Iran war is up to him

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be arranged “very soon,” saying his administration was making substantial progress toward ending the war.

Trump made the comments to reporters at Joint Base Andrews after returning from campaign events in Texas, where he said he had discussed Russia and Iran aboard Air Force One with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff.

“We’re making a lot of progress with Russia-Ukraine,” Trump said. “There’ll be a meeting set up very soon.”

Asked who would meet, Trump named Putin and Zelensky. The two leaders have not met face-to-face since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

On Iran, Trump said Washington was in “a very good position” and claimed Tehran wanted a deal but was delaying.

“It’s the question: When do I want to end it?” Trump said. Asked separately whether further U.S. action against Iran could follow next week’s midterm elections, he replied: “Anything’s possible.”

Trump also said nuclear disarmament would be a topic in upcoming talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and argued that Russia should be included in broader discussions. He cited the roughly 1,700 to 1,800 deployed nuclear weapons held by the United States and Russia and called the arsenals “very, very dangerous.”

Turning to Israel, Trump said he had heard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu performed better than expected in Tuesday’s election and might be “winning or tied,” while acknowledging it remained early in the count.

Trump also said he would approve of defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro entering the United States, calling the Bolsonaro family “fine people.” He again described Brazil’s election as “very strange” and “terrible,” while saying he had not taken sides.