The meeting was confirmed by Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov but he played down a three-way summit with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.

TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING: The Kremlin said Vladimir Putin and Trump will meet in the ‘coming days’ after the U.S. president said he hoped to hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart in person to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Even with Trump's direct involvement, Moscow's preconditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine make it a swift ending to the bloodshed difficult to reach.