Trump pushes for Putin-Zelenskyy meet to end the war in Ukraine

New Delhi: President Donald Trump on Monday said he has begun arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to explore a pathway to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump announced the move in a social media post after a phone call with Putin and separate talks at the White House with Zelenskyy and senior European leaders. He wrote that he had called Putin and started planning a meeting, with the location to be decided. Trump added that after the leaders meet, a three-way session could follow with himself joining Putin and Zelenskyy.

It was not clear whether Putin had agreed to the proposal. Russia’s state news agency Tass quoted presidential aide Yuri Ushakov as saying Putin and Trump “spoke in favor” of continuing direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations and discussed “the idea of raising the level” of those negotiations.

After his meeting at the White House, Zelenskyy told reporters that if Russia does not show willingness to meet, Ukraine would ask the United States to act accordingly. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who joined the discussions, said in a television interview that if Russia resists direct talks, the United States and Europe would consider doing more on tariffs and sanctions.

Zelenskyy had earlier said he wanted a ceasefire before any leader-level meeting. On Monday he said both sides should meet without conditions and consider possible ways to end the war.

Trump said a potential ceasefire and questions related to territory should be discussed directly by the two leaders in a meeting. “We’re going to let the president go over and talk to the president and we’ll see how that works out,” he said during the White House engagements.

Trump also said he would support European security guarantees for Ukraine. He described a possible “NATO-like” security presence to be worked out with European Union leaders and stopped short of committing US troops. Zelenskyy said it is important that the United States help coordinate and participate in the emerging security guarantees.

Earlier in the day, Russia’s Foreign Ministry rejected the idea of a NATO peacekeeping force in Ukraine. Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said such a scenario could escalate the conflict and lead to “unpredictable consequences.”

Trump said outcomes from the current push should be clearer within one or two weeks, adding that all parties would prefer an immediate ceasefire while a lasting peace is pursued.

Ahead of the White House meetings, Trump suggested that Ukraine could not regain Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Zelenskyy, in a post late Sunday, said peace must be lasting and not a temporary arrangement that could be used to prepare for further aggression, as he said happened after Russia took Crimea and parts of the Donbas eight years ago.

European leaders who met Trump in Washington said a temporary ceasefire is among the options. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would like to see a ceasefire at the next meeting, which he said should be a trilateral session. Trump said a broader peace agreement is attainable, while noting that an immediate ceasefire would be preferable as work continues on a durable settlement.