BERLIN, August 8. /TASS/. Former military adviser to ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Brig. Gen. (Ret) Erich Vad described the upcoming meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, as "good news."

"It’s good news that the presidents of Russia and the US want to meet to discuss an end to the conflict. In essence, the goal of European states and governments was to put an end to the conflict on the European soil," he told TASS.

Following a working meeting between Putin and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday, Trump said there was a good chance "that we could be ending" the Ukraine conflict and that there will be a meeting with both Putin and Zelensky. The New York Times reported that Washington is planning to hold a bilateral US-Russia summit, followed by trilateral talks with Zelensky. CNN reported later that the US leader has already tasked his team with preparing for both meetings as soon as possible.

According to Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, the parties agreed to hold a face-to-face meeting between the two countries’ leaders and preparations for the summit have already begun.