Zelenskyy confirms trilateral discussions to include Putin discussed with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Thursday that he had discussed a trilateral meeting to include Russian president Vladimir Putin, potentially next week, during a call with President Donald Trump a day before.

Zelenskyy – who echoes the comments issued by Trump on Wednesday and said that the discussion had also taken place with European leaders – called Putin to “be courageous” and take the meeting.

“Yesterday, various potential formats for leader level meetings to bring peace were also discussed-two bilaterals and a trilateral,” he said in an article on X. “Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and is waiting for the same courageous approach on the Russian side. It is time for we finish war.”

President Donald Trump, on the right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gathered during the Summit of Heads of State and the NATO government in Hague, the Netherlands, June 25, 2025. (Getty Images / Zelenskiy / Official / Telegram account)

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The comments came after months of attempted Trump administration for Putin to be required with Zelenskyy, which the chief of the Kremlin has so far refused.

It seemed unlikely to accept this time either, because the Russian state media reported Thursday that Putin was open to the idea, but said that “conditions must be created for negotiations to occur”.

The “conditions” would also have been “far from being created”, according to a telegram post from the Russian news agency RIA.

Trump’s foreign policy advisor also said Thursday that the question of a trilateral meeting was “mentioned” but “not discussed” during Putin’s talks with the Witkoff’s White House envoy and later Trump.

From left to right, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hold a telephone conversation with President Donald Trump after Trump’s call with Russian president Vladimir Putin on May 16, 2025, Tirana, Albania. (Photo of Kuglersteffen / Bundesregierung via Getty Images)

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“As for the option of a trilateral meeting, which for any reason was discussed yesterday in Washington, this option was simply mentioned by the American representative at the meeting at the Kremlin. But this option was not specifically discussed,” said Kremlin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov. “The Russian side has completely left this option, without comment.

“We first propose to focus on preparing a bilateral meeting with D. Trump and we think that the essential is that this meeting is successful and productive,” he added.

Zelenskyy said he had discussions with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday to ensure that Europe’s interests were also at the forefront of any American-Russia-Ukraine discussion.

“We coordinate our positions, and we also see the need for a common European vision on the main security problems for Europe,” said Zelenskyy. “Much depends – both and in the long term – on the prudence and efficiency of each stage taken by Europe and America.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the left, meets the American special envoy Steve Witkoff at the Palais du Kremlin in Moscow on August 6, 2025. (Kremlin Press Office / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Germany and France have assumed management positions with regard to the war in Ukraine and protecting the interests of Europe following the reintegration of Trump in the White House earlier this year.

The United Kingdom was also at the forefront of these discussions, although Fox News Digital could not immediately confirm if Zelenskyy had also already discussed the trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.