Trump and Zelenskyy express hope for trilateral talks with Putin to end war in Ukraine

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and United States President Donald Trump on Monday expressed hope for future trilateral talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, to bring an end to his war on Ukraine. 

Trump and Zelenskyy spoke in the Oval Office ahead of their critical meeting with European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

The US president said he would back European security guarantees for Ukraine. 

“I think President Putin wants to find an answer, too",Trump told Zelenskyy and European leaders. "And we’ll see in a certain period of time, not very far from now, a week or two weeks, we’re going to know whether or not we’re going to solve this or is this horrible fighting going to continue.”

This extraordinary gathering was hastily called after Trump met with Putin in Alaska on Friday. The Trump-Putin summit brought no concrete deal on a possible ceasefire.  

Trump has said the onus is now on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions of land that he said could end the war. Russia now controls roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. 

European leaders were left out of Trump's summit with Putin. They want to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow.

Many arrived at the White House with the explicit goal of protecting Ukraine’s interests — a rare show of diplomatic force.

Trump said he plans to talk to Putin after his White House meetings with Zelenskyy and European leaders leaders.