Even as the president has repeatedly groused about Putin’s “bullshit” and double talk, the administration believes Putin has given signs that demonstrate this time is different.
White House officials are tempering expectations ahead of Friday’s summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, casting it as a step toward a peaceful solution to the Ukraine war and avoiding promises of a ceasefire or any other type of grand bargain.
The goal, a White House official said, is for Trump to simply take the measure of Putin, find out if the Russian leader is serious and work toward a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
This is all about “trusting Trump’s instincts,” said a White House official who, like others in this story, was granted anonymity to discuss the administration’s thinking.
Even as the president has repeatedly groused about Putin’s “bullshit” and double talk, the administration believes Putin has given signs that demonstrate this time is different.
Putin “offered a plan,” the official said. “It may not be a viable plan, but there was something on paper, which shows progress.”
Special envoy Steve Witkoff returned from Russia last week and told Trump that Putin wanted to meet. Trump sees that as progress, “so he will go to hear him out,” the official said.