The Kremlin, asked on Monday about a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia, said that a meeting was necessary but that Putin had no trips to the Middle East planned for mid-May.

"Such a meeting is clearly on the agenda," the Kremlin spokesman said. “In many ways, we believe it is, of course, necessary. It must be properly prepared, and this requires efforts at a variety of expert levels.

In an interview with NBC News, US President Donald Trump once again stated that he needs time to respond to whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is "tapping him along." During the conversation, Trump was reminded of a post in which he suggested that the Kremlin leader "is tapping him along" and may not want to end the war in Ukraine.