Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky looked set for a peace summit after fast-moving talks on Monday between US commander-in-chief Donald Trump and European leaders, focusing on the key issue of long-term security guarantees for Kyiv. Hopes of a breakthrough rose after the American said he had a phone call with Russian counterpart Putin — whom he met in Alaska last week — following a “very good” meeting with the Europeans and the Ukrainian president at the White House.
If the Putin-Zelensky summit happens, it would be the first meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders since Moscow’s full-scale invasion nearly three and a half years ago.
Trump, who is trying to live up to his promise to quickly end the war, wrote on his Truth Social network that “everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.”
“He Wants To Make A Deal”
Trump, 79, hosted seven European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House for a closed-door multilateral meeting to coordinate on ensuring security guarantees for Kyiv.
During the meeting, a hot mic inadvertently caught Trump telling Macron that he thinks the Russian President “wants to make a deal.”
“I think he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] wants to make a deal…I think he wants to make a deal for me, you understand that? As crazy as it sounds,” he said in a conversation between the two leaders ahead of the multilateral meeting.
‘I think he wants to make a deal, you understand? As crazy as it sounds’
Trump caught talking on hot mic BEFORE ‘official’ meeting with European leaders pic.twitter.com/rA3AoiMz8V
— RT (@RT_com) August 18, 2025
The American President’s remark suggested that he believed Putin was inclined to strike an agreement, offering an insight into his recent talks with the Russian leader when they met in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.
Zelensky ‘Ready’ To Meet Putin
Zelensky confirmed to reporters outside the White House he was “ready” for a bilateral with bitter foe Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine has led to tens of thousands of deaths.
In Moscow, a Kremlin aide said that Putin was open to the “idea” of direct talks with Ukraine.
The Ukraine war has ground to a virtual stalemate despite a few recent Russian advances, but Trump’s summit with Putin last Friday failed to produce any ceasefire.
Zelensky then rushed to the White House to meet with Trump after the US president increasingly pushed the Ukrainian leader to make concessions to Russia. The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Commission and NATO then announced that they would be coming too, in a pointed show of support.
Zelensky also met one-on-one in the Oval Office with Trump in their first encounter in the heart of the US presidency since their acrimonious blow-up there in February.
The Ukrainian president said the meeting was their “best” yet, with little of the tensions that erupted when Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated him in front of TV cameras for not being “grateful” for US support.
