Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he hopes to meet next week with U.S. President Donald Trump, possibly in the United Arab Emirates, although a White House official cast tentative doubt on the summit occurring.
Putin's announcement came on the eve of a White House deadline for Moscow to show progress toward ending the 3-year-old war in Ukraine or suffer additional economic sanctions.
The U.S. was still expected to impose those sanctions Friday on Russia, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The same official said a U.S.-Russian summit would not happen if Putin does not agree to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The official did not specify whether the condition was for Zelenskyy to