Trump & Putin Hold Talks; Plan Trilateral Meeting With Zelensky To Push Ukraine Peace Efforts

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump spoke on the phone on Tuesday, reaffirming their commitment to maintaining direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

The discussion took place at Trump’s initiative, confirmed Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. During the call, Trump briefed Putin on his recent meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders in Washington.

Acknowledging Previous Cooperation

Putin expressed gratitude to Trump for the hospitality and arrangements during the Alaska Summit, highlighting progress achieved towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.

According to Ushakov, both leaders explored opportunities for involving higher-ranking officials from Ukraine and Russia in the ongoing direct talks.

“It is quite telling that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to keep in touch with one another on the Ukrainian issue and other urgent international and bilateral matters. The President of Russia highlighted the importance of Donald Trump’s personal efforts and commitment to finding solutions for a lasting settlement in Ukraine. The conversation was quite frank and constructive,” Ushakov stated.

Following his meetings with Zelensky and European leaders, Trump confirmed on Monday that he is arranging a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian Presidents as part of efforts to end the devastating war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and military personnel.

“I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social.

He added that after the bilateral meeting, a trilateral meeting would take place involving both Presidents and himself, describing it as ‘a very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years’.

US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are reportedly coordinating with Russia and Ukraine to finalise the meetings.

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