MOSCOW/KYIV - Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump will meet in the coming days, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday, in what would be the first summit between leaders of the two countries since 2021.

The announcement came a day after Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, held talks with Putin in search of a breakthrough to end the Ukraine war, now in its fourth year.

Trump has threatened new sanctions against Russia and countries that buy its exports from Friday if there is no deal. On Wednesday he imposed higher tariffs against India for buying Russian oil, and it was not clear if he would announce further steps once his Friday deadline expires.

"At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was essentially reached to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days, that is, a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump," Kremlin aide Ushakov said.

"We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

Ushakov said a summit venue had been agreed, but would be announced later. Putin was holding talks on Thursday with the president of the United Arab Emirates, which sources have previously suggested as a possible venue.

There has been no summit of U.S. and Russian leaders since Putin and Joe Biden met in Geneva in June 2021. Russia went to war in Ukraine in February 2022, citing threats to its own security and plunging relations into deep crisis. Kyiv and its Western allies cast the invasion as an imperial-style land grab.

Trump has moved to mend relations with Russia and try to end the war, although in his public comments he has veered between admiration and sharp criticism of Putin.

Russia's main stock market index MOEX gained as much as 5% on the news, its highest level in two months. The rouble hit a two-week high against the U.S. dollar and China's yuan.

"Russian stocks are soaring. Investors hope that the (Trump-Putin) meeting will be a step towards no...