Trump calls Putin to propose Zelenskyy meeting after White House talks on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump says he has called Vladimir Putin to discuss a meeting with the Russian president and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The 40-minute call followed Trump’s meeting yesterday in Washington with Zelenskyy and seven European leaders.

Trump described the gathering as “very successful” saying important discussions were held to end the war in Ukraine.

“We're all working for the same goal. Very simple goal. We want to stop the killing, get this settled,” he said.

During his campaign, he claimed he could settle Russia’s war in Ukraine in a day, but on Monday said it was far more complicated than he thought it would be.

He told Zelenskyy and European leaders he would speak to Putin by phone after the gathering to try work out a trilateral meeting between them.

A Kremlin aide has described the call as a discussion about “raising the level of representatives” at Ukraine talks.

In a post on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel Yuri Ushakov did not specify what he meant by this and did not directly address the possibility of a meeting between all three men.

A trilateral meeting is seen as a critical step towards bringing a possible end to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Trump suggested, likely implausibly, that the fighting that has raged for years could wind down quickly.

“A week or two weeks, we’ll know whether we’re going to solve this, or if this horrible fighting is going to continue,” said Trump.

He even suggested that the issues yet to be hammered out weren’t “overly complex”. But much remains unresolved, including red lines that are incompatible.

This includes whether Ukraine will cede any land to Russia, the future of Ukraine’s army, and whether the country will ultimately have lasting and meaningful security guarantees.