‘Putin-Zelenskyy Meeting, Then Trilateral’: Trump Unveils Peace Plan After White House Summit
In a major diplomatic development following a high-stakes summit at the White House, US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he has initiated arrangements for a direct meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump revealed that once this bilateral meeting takes place, it will be followed by a trilateral summit involving himself. The announcement marks the most significant step yet in the US-led push to end the nearly four-year-long war in Ukraine.
“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
He described the move as a “very good, early step” and confirmed that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff were coordinating the efforts with both Russia and Ukraine. While a location is yet to be finalized, reports suggest Trump is pushing for the Putin-Zelenskyy meeting to happen by the end of August, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz indicating it could occur within the next two weeks.
The announcement came after Trump hosted President Zelenskyy and a host of top European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron, who had traveled to Washington to press for security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe.
While some reports claimed Trump had paused the meeting to call the Russian leader, he clarified that the call took place after the conclusion of the talks. Confirmation came from Moscow, where Putin’s aide, Ushakov, said the two leaders spoke for 40 minutes. He stated that Trump briefed Putin on the White House discussions and that both presidents endorsed the idea of direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations.
This flurry of diplomacy follows the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on August 15, where the groundwork for these next steps appears to have been laid. President Zelenskyy has already signaled his openness to the proposed format, expressing his readiness to participate in a trilateral meeting to negotiate an end to the war. The coming weeks will be critical in determining if this new diplomatic track can translate into a tangible peace process.
