Trump: Meeting between Putin and Zelenskyi in preparation

The Republican wrote this on his Truth Social platform after a phone call with Putin. Trump added that there would then be a three-way meeting in which he would also take part.

According to negotiating circles at the Ukraine summit in Washington, the bilateral meeting had been proposed by Putin and the time and place were to be clarified.

Kremlin: Putin thanked Trump

In contrast, Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov initially only said that the previous direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev should be conducted at a higher level than before. He did not speak of a meeting between the presidents.

Selenskyj repeatedly criticized the fact that the Moscow negotiators had nothing to decide. He is therefore calling for direct talks with Putin. According to Ushakov, the phone call lasted 40 minutes. Putin thanked Trump for his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump sees good first step

On his Truth Social platform, Trump spoke of a "very good, early step" towards ending the war. Trump spoke to Putin on the phone on the fringes of a meeting with Zelensky and European leaders at the White House. Among other things, security guarantees for Ukraine were discussed, Trump wrote. Specifically, it was about what guarantees the various European states would provide - in "coordination" with the USA.

Over the past few days, the US government has been discussing a NATO-like promise of protection from the USA and European states to Ukraine - which could mean intervention in the event of a military attack.