Trump has begun preparing a meeting between Zelensky and Putin. After that, a trilateral meeting will be organized

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he has begun preparing a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following that, a trilateral meeting with Trump’s participation will be organized.

The U.S. president wrote about this on Truth Social, also describing his meeting with Zelensky and European leaders as a success.

“During the meeting we discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, which will be provided by various European countries in coordination with the United States of America. Everyone is very pleased with the possibility of achieving peace between Russia and Ukraine. After the meeting, I called President Putin and began organizing a meeting — the venue is yet to be determined — between Putin and Zelensky. After that meeting, there will be a trilateral format — the two presidents and myself. Once again, I want to stress: this was a very good step toward ending a war that has already lasted almost four years,” Trump wrote.

Zelensky stated that Russia itself proposed to Trump organizing a bilateral meeting with Ukraine ahead of a possible trilateral summit.

“After a joint coordination meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, European leaders, the EU, and NATO, President Trump called Vladimir Putin to discuss diplomatic steps. In particular, he suggested holding a trilateral meeting at the level of the leaders of Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia. Later, heads of state and government gathered in the Oval Office to discuss the outcome of this phone call. Donald Trump reported that the Russian side proposed first holding a bilateral meeting with Ukraine, and then a trilateral one with the United States. We are ready for a bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin and afterward count on a trilateral meeting,” Zelensky told journalists in Washington.

On the eve of this, Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed Trump’s phone conversation with Putin. He did not mention preparations for a Zelensky–Putin meeting, but said the sides had agreed to discuss the possibility of “raising the level of representation of Kyiv and Moscow” in direct negotiations.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump had agreed that a Zelensky–Putin meeting would take place within the next two weeks.