Saudi Arabia announced Friday that it would be willing to host a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin as the two leaders say they want to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Trump raised the prospect of meeting in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after he held a surprise phone call with Putin.
The two leaders were "going to meet probably in Saudi Arabia the first time," Trump told White House reporters.
"The kingdom expresses its welcome to hosting the summit in Saudi Arabia, and reaffirms its ongoing efforts to achieve a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement, without confirming whether the meeting would go ahead.
The ministry said it "commends the phone call" between Trump and Putin and the "possibility" of hosting a summit in the kingdom.
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no agreement with Trump as to the details of a meeting between him and Putin, adding that both sides are still in negotiations.
"So far, no decisions have been made, neither at the working level nor at the highest level," Peskov told reporters.
"Of course, it will take time to prepare such a meeting. It could be weeks, it could be a month, it could be several months," he added.
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