US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that he will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in Washington on Monday, adding that if all goes well, a meeting with President Putin will be scheduled afterward.
Trump stressed that the best way to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is through a direct peace settlement rather than just a ceasefire, which often does not succeed, and expressed hope that these diplomatic efforts would save millions of lives.
“A great and very successful day in Alaska! The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO. It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up. President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Zelenskyy-Trump Telephone Call
The statement from US President Donald Trump follows a telephonic conversation between him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy described his conversation with Trump as “long and substantive,” emphasizing Ukraine’s commitment to peace and close coordination with international partners. He added that Ukraine remains fully prepared to make every effort to achieve lasting peace.
“We started with one-on-one talks before inviting European leaders to join us. This call lasted for more than an hour and a half, including about an hour of our bilateral conversation with President Trump,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy added, Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace.
“Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace. President Trump informed about his meeting with the Russian leader and the main points of their discussion. It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation,” he said.
Expressing support for Trump’s proposal of a trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the US, and Russia, Zelenskyy noted that such a format would allow key issues to be addressed directly at the leadership level.
Trump-Putin Alaska Summit
US President Trump said on Friday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a “productive” meeting aimed at reducing the human toll of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump said thousands of lives could be saved weekly if both sides acted. “We’re going to stop, 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 people a week from being killed, and President Putin wants to see that as much as I do,” the US President said.
