U.S. President Donald Trump says he has called Russian President Vladimir Putin and begun to arrange a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a critical step toward bringing a possible end to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Trump said the meeting’s location will be determined later.
Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders met at the White House earlier Monday for hastily assembled multilateral talks, which came after Trump met with Putin on Aug. 15 and shut the other leaders out. European political leaders joined discussions as they pursue means to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow.
Here's the latest:
Zelenskyy says he’s on board with Russia’s suggestion for a one-on-one meeting
Zelenskyy said Russia first suggested that Ukraine and Russia meet one on one, to be followed by a three-way meeting that would include Trump.
Briefing reporters after the White House talks, Zelenskyy said “we are ready” for any leader-level meetings. He said it’s the only way to solve these “complicated and painful issues.”
No date has been set for him and Putin to meet, he said.
Merz says European leaders spoke ‘with one voice’ in talks with Trump
He says the Europeans were well-prepared and well-coordinated. He said Trump “noticed that we Europeans are speaking with one voice; that was … particularly important.”
The German chancellor gave a positive assessment of the lengthy talks.
“I don’t want to hide the fact that I wasn’t sure it would go this way — it could have gone differently,” he said. “But my expectations were not just met, they were exceeded.”
He said Trump had also been “very open for humanitarian questions,” and the issue of thousands of children abducted from Ukraine had been discussed.
Merz says potential meeting between Ukrainian and Russian presidents concerns all of Europe
The German chancellor said the Europeans and Americans will need to discuss who participates in the security guarantees and to what extent. “It’s completely clear that the whole of Europe should participate,” he said.
“This is not just about the territory of Ukraine,” he added. “It’s about the political order of Europe.”
Asked about the possibility of German peacekeeping troops, he said it was too early to give a final answer.
German chancellor says Trump looking to have Zelenskyy-Putin meeting ‘within the next two weeks’
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump, in his call with Putin, “agreed that there will be a meeting between the Russian president and the Ukrainian president within the next two weeks.” He said the venue must still be agreed upon.
Merz said that such a meeting “must, like all meetings, be well-prepared; we will do this with President Zelenskyy.” He said he doesn’t currently know what the meeting could produce.
Merz reiterated that it would be “desirable, and more than that, that there be a ceasefire in Ukraine at the latest with this meeting.”
“President Zelenskyy, for his part, said that he can hardly imagine having such a meeting with Putin without there being a ceasefire,” he added.
Russian official says Putin ‘spoke in favor’ of continued talks with Ukrainian delegation, state media reports
Russia state news agency Tass cited Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov as saying the two presidents “spoke in favor” of continuing direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Ushakov said they also discussed “the idea of raising the level of the direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations.”
Trump says arrangements underway for Zelenskyy and Putin to meet
After meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump said on social media that he called Putin and began the arrangements for a meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, at a location to be determined.
Trump said he will then sit down with both leaders after that meeting.
“This was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” he said.
He said Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.
Trump’s group meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders ends
“The East Room multilateral meeting has ended,” the White House said in a notice to the media.
Trump had said they would visit the Oval Office before heading back to their respective countries.
US Sen. Blumenthal voices concerns about Putin’s goals amid Ukraine war talks
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who has co-sponsored a bill imposing sanctions on Russia with GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, said Monday there is a “lot of reason for skepticism and doubt.”
“All the talk about security guarantees, about a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting, about positive steps forward. All of it is coming from Trump and (special envoy Steve) Witkoff, not from Putin,” Blumenthal told The Associated Press.
He added that he believes Putin has “an incentive to prolong peace efforts and continue to play rope-a-dope with Trump.”