Donald Trump could meet Vladimir Putin as early as next week as he seeks to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

A meeting between Putin and Mr Trump would be a significant milestone in the war, but there is no guarantee such a meeting would lead to the end of the fighting. Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on their demands.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said a lot has to happen before a meeting can happen.

Mr Rubio said the US would be having talks with European allies and the Ukrainians. He said Mr Trump meeting directly with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine would help close an agreement.

He cautioned: “We’ve got to get close enough to that point so that a meeting like that will be productive and worth doing.”

News of a potential meeting with Putin came hours after Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow.

Mr Trump had posted earlier on Truth Social that Witkoff “had a highly productive meeting” with Putin in which “great progress was made”.

Mr Zelensky has been willing to meet face-to-face with Putin to end the conflict, but Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea.

Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told reporters a location for the meeting has been agreed “that they don’t want to discuss”.

Asked what Russia’s aim is for the meeting, Polyansky said: “Russia’s aims are always peace and security in the world. They are not changing, and that’s the same aim that we pursue in this kind of negotiations.”