President Trump said Monday he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin following meetings at the White House with top European leaders and began arranging a potential bilateral meeting involving Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump said the meeting between Putin and Zelensky would take place at a time and location to be determined. It would be the first time the two leaders met face-to-face since the start of the war in February 2022.
“After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.”
Trump and other world leaders put some momentum behind a trilateral meeting between the three leaders as a host of Europeans descended on the White House, along with Zelensky, for meetings on Monday following Trump hosting Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Trump’s call with Putin came after he spent much of the afternoon meeting with Zelensky and seven key European leaders at the White House to discuss a path forward on ending the war in Ukraine, which has been raging on since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.
“During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.”
Trump, Zelensky and other European leaders projected a unified front during Monday’s gathering. The leaders all spoke about their desire to end the war, though some sticking points emerged throughout the afternoon.
For one, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz argued that there should be no follow-up meeting with Putin without a ceasefire agreement. Trump shrugged off the suggestion, arguing a ceasefire was not a prerequisite to obtaining a peace agreement.
Details were also scant on what security guarantees would look like for Ukraine. Trump left open the possibility that U.S. forces could be involved, but he indicated Europe would take the lead on the initiative.
Trump has said it will be up to Ukraine to determine the issue of potential territorial concessions as part of any peace agreement, though he has at times indicated there will need to be “land swaps.” An image posted by a top White House staffer on Monday showed Trump and Zelensky standing in front of a map of Ukraine that outlined which areas were occupied by Russian forces.
Monday’s meetings at the White House came after Trump hosted Putin in Alaska for a summit last Friday. That meeting, which marked Putin’s first time on U.S. soil since 2015, ended with both leaders touting progress but without any concrete details on ending the war in Ukraine.
Updated 6:41 p.m.
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