President Trump is weighing a meeting in the coming weeks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he presses for an end to the war in Ukraine.
Trump raised the idea of meeting with the two leaders during a call with European allies on Wednesday, a source confirmed to The Hill. It was not immediately clear when or where the meeting might happen, or if it had been agreed to by all parties.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Russia had expressed an interest in meeting with Trump.
“As President Trump said earlier today on TRUTH Social, great progress was made during Special Envoy Witkoff’s meeting with President Putin,” Leavitt said in a statement. “The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky. President Trump wants this brutal war to end.”
The New York Times first reported Trump was aiming to meet with Putin and Zelensky as soon as next week. The outlet reported Trump told European leaders the meeting would involve only Trump, Putin and Zelensky, though it was not clear whether Putin or Zelensky had agreed to participate.
Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy for peace missions, met earlier Wednesday with Putin in Russia. Trump posted on Truth Social it was a “highly productive” meeting.
“Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies,” Trump posted. “Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come.”
Zelensky posted on the social platform X earlier Wednesday that he’d spoken with Trump following Witkoff’s meetings in Russia.
“Our joint position with our partners is absolutely clear – the war must end,” Zelensky posted. “And it must be done honestly. European leaders were on the call, and I am grateful to each of them for their support. We discussed what was spelled out in Moscow.”
Trump has met in person with Zelensky multiple times during his second term, including an infamous White House conversation that devolved into chaos after Trump and Vice President Vance suggested the Ukrainian leader had not been appropriately grateful for U.S. support.
Trump has also spoken with Putin on the phone multiple times and has indicated an openness to meeting in person with the Russian leader.
Trump campaigned on a pledge to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office, a time frame he later claimed was “sarcastic.” But he has in recent weeks expressed mounting frustration with Putin as Russia continues to hammer Ukrainian cities with drone strikes.
The Trump administration is set to impose additional sanctions on Russia later this week, and the White House on Wednesday announced it would double tariffs on India over its continued purchase of Russian oil, which it said was fueling Moscow’s war machine.
A German government spokesperson told The Hill that during the call, which included Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump updated participants “about the status of the talks with Russia.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and other European leaders joined the call with Trump and Zelensky, a NATO spokesperson confirmed to The Hill.
“We continue to do all we can to support a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” spokesperson Allison Hart told The Hill.
Filip Timotija contributed.
Updated at 4:30 p.m. EDT.
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