The Trump-Zelensky meeting signaled cautious optimism about prospects for peace in Ukraine.
Trump said he had spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and begun arranging a face-to-face meeting.
European leaders expressed concerns that Washington may press Kyiv into concessions that could strengthen Moscow’s hand.
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday signaled cautious optimism about prospects for peace in Ukraine, after a high-level meeting at the White House with European leaders.
It was the second Trump-Zelensky meeting in the Oval Office this year, and both leaders described the discussions as their most constructive to date. Zelensky, who has faced criticism from US officials in the past for not showing enough gratitude for American aid, repeatedly thanked Trump, calling the talks his “best” meeting in Washington so far.
Trump announced he had spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and begun arranging a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky “at a location to be determined,” followed by a trilateral summit with himself as mediator. “This was a very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years,” Trump wrote on social media.
While no peace deal appears imminent, Trump said the US would back European-led efforts to oversee any eventual agreement. European leaders, meanwhile, expressed concerns that Washington may press Kyiv into concessions that could strengthen Moscow’s hand.
The meeting marked a notable shift in tone from Zelensky’s last visit in February, which ended in public friction and briefly disrupted US military support to Ukraine.
