Trump calls on Putin to organize the next stages of peace negotiations

President Donald Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European White House leaders, to start coordinating the next stages of the peace process to end the war in Ukraine.

The president posted on his Social truth Monday evening platform saying that he called Putin at the end of a day of meetings to start “the arrangements for a meeting” between the Russian president and his Ukrainian counterpart. Trump’s call to Putin reflected his decision to call Zelenskyy after the Alaska summit on Friday with Putin.

“At the end of the meetings, I called President Putin, and I started the provisions of a meeting, in a place to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” confirmed Trump, after media reports alluding to the call.

Trump: Zelenskyy meeting not “end of the road” for American support to conclude a peace agreement

Trump coordinates Putin-Zelenskyy to speak after meetings of the White House on Monday, August 18, 2025. (Getty Images)

The president added that after the meeting between the two presidents at war, there would also be a trilateral meeting with the United States.

“After this meeting, we will have a trilat, who would be the two presidents, as well as myself,” continued the president. “Once again, it was a very good early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years.”

Yury Ushakov, a high assistant CNN.

Putin “expressed support for direct negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine,” added Ushakov.

President Donald Trump said he was working on the negotiation of a meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Monday peace talks in Washington, DC, with European leaders. (Reuters)

Trump says the ceasefire is not necessary for peace during the high issues of the meeting with Zelenskyy

Familiar officials with Monday’s talks would also have said that Trump’s call on Putin entered the European leaders in the White House. Meanwhile, one of these leaders, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, would have said that Putin would have accepted the call with Trump to meet Zelenskyy in two weeks.

Earlier in the day, Trump was taken in a warm moment by telling French President Emmanuel Macron that Putin wanted to find a resolution to end the war in Ukraine for him.

President Donald Trump seated next to the French president Emmanuel Macron at a meeting with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House on August 18, 2025, in Washington, DC (Win McNamee / Getty images)

“I think that (Putin) wants to conclude an agreement,” whispered Trump to Macron in the East Room while they were preparing for Monday talks. “I think he wants to agree for me, you understand that? As crazy as it may seem.”

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After the talks on Monday, Zelenskyy thanked Trump and all the other leaders present at DC for their work trying to put peace to his country, noting that the talks were “long and detailed”.

“Today, important negotiations have taken place in Washington. We have discussed many problems with President Trump. It was a long and detailed conversation, including discussions on the situation on the battlefield and our steps to bring peace closer,” said Zelenskyy in a Publish Monday evening.

“We appreciate the important signal of the United States concerning its desire to support and be part of these guarantees. A lot of attention today has been paid to the return of our children, to the release of prisoners of war and civilians held by Russia. We agreed to work on this subject,” said Zelenskyy. “The American president also supported a meeting in terms of leaders. Such a meeting is necessary to solve sensitive problems.”

Fox News Digital contacted the White House to comment on this but did not receive an answer.