President Donald Trump phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and seven European leaders were gathered at the White House, according to U.S.-based Axios.
The call came after Trump said earlier in the day that Putin was expecting to hear from him once talks with Zelenskyy and the Europeans concluded. Trump said he hoped to broker a trilateral summit with Putin and Zelenskyy, though the Kremlin has not committed to the plan.
Trump previously called Zelenskyy after meeting with Putin in an earlier summit. This time, he stepped out of his White House talks with European leaders to dial Moscow, German outlet Bild first reported.
On Truth Social, Trump said he had called Putin and “began the arrangements for a meeting” between Putin and Zelenskyy, to be followed by another summit that would also include Trump. He offered no date or location. The Kremlin confirmed only that the two discussed “the idea of raising the level of Russian and Ukrainian representation in the negotiations.”
The idea was also raised during Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy and the Europeans, one source said. “He said he wants to talk about it with Putin and that he wants to do it soon, but didn’t mention a date or location.”
The meetings struck a notably friendly tone compared with Zelenskyy’s fraught visit in February. The Ukrainian leader called Monday’s talks his “best” meeting with Trump so far, while European leaders praised Trump’s efforts toward peace but urged him to reconsider bypassing a ceasefire in favor of a comprehensive deal.
Trump said the U.S. would “be involved” in post-war security guarantees for Ukraine, suggesting Europeans would serve as the “first line of defense.” He did not rule out deploying U.S. troops. Moscow’s Foreign Ministry responded that it “categorically” rejects “a military contingent with the participation of NATO countries” in Ukraine.
Territory remains a sticking point. Zelenskyy has said he will not cede land, but Putin has proposed annexing Donetsk and Luhansk while freezing front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
