US President Donald Trump temporarily halted a high-level meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders on Monday to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, CNN reported citing sources.
A European official confirmed that Trump paused the negotiations in Washington to make the call, which lasted about 40 minutes. German daily Bild first reported that discussions with the European leaders would resume after Trump’s conversation with Putin.
According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, the call was “candid and very constructive.” Trump briefed Putin on his discussions with NATO and EU leaders, while Putin expressed support for direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Ushakov added that both sides considered the possibility of raising the level of Moscow-Kyiv talks, though he stopped short of confirming whether Putin had agreed to a bilateral or trilateral summit.
Trump later said he was working to arrange a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. He reiterated his push for a peace agreement rather than just a ceasefire, noting that Putin had signaled willingness to accept security guarantees for Ukraine.
“The Alaska Summit made me realise that while difficult, peace is within reach… We are going to try to get a three-party meeting with President Putin and President Zelenskyy as soon as we can,” Trump said.
Putin also thanked Trump for hosting him in Alaska last week, as both sides continue to explore pathways toward ending the war.