The Albany Gazette - Trump says arranging Putin-Zelensky peace summit

Trump said he had spoken by phone with Putin -- whom he met in Alaska last week -- following a "very good" meeting with the Europeans and the Ukrainian president in the White House.

"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 Zelensky," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Trump, 79, said that he himself would then hold a three-way summit with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

"Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine," Trump wrote.

Putin told Trump that he was ready to meet Zelensky, a source familiar with talks told AFP.

The US president also said he had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace deal with Russia, with Europe taking the lead and coordinating with Washington.

Trump said earlier that Putin had agreed to Western security guarantees for Ukraine, despite the Russian leader ruling out Kyiv's long-held dream of joining the NATO alliance.

"During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America," Trump said on Truth Social.

- Zelensky hails 'best' meeting -

The White House was the venue for an extraordinary -- and pointed -- meeting gathering Trump with Zelensky plus the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Commission and NATO.

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.

This time the atmosphere was far calmer than when Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky in front of TV cameras less than six months ago for not being "grateful" for US support.

Trump even complimented Zelensky on his black jacket, after the Ukrainian was criticized by right-wing media because he failed to change his trademark war-leader's outfit for a suit during the February visit.

The US president meanwhile expressed optimism over the chances of ending Russia's invasion .

"In a week or two weeks, we're going to know whether or not we're going to solve this or is this horrible fighting going to continue," Trump said as he opened the meeting.

The presence of the European leaders however also underscored continuing nervousness about Trump's pressure on Kyiv to make concessions to Moscow.

- 'Exchanges of territory' -

Trump had pushed Ukraine ahead of the meeting to give up Crimea and abandon its goal of joining NATO -- both key demands made by Putin.

Trump said that during the White House talks on Monday they also "need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory" between Russia and Ukraine.

Reports had said Putin was pushing for Ukraine to cede its eastern Donbas region, much of which is still partly in Kyiv's hands, in exchange for freezing the frontline elsewhere.

Ukraine has rejected any such move.

The Europeans nevertheless lined up to praise Trump as they called for a lasting peace to end Russia's invasion.

"I'm really excited. Let's make the best out of today," NATO chief Mark Rutte said as the US president went round the table asking them to comment.

French President Emmanuel Macron, however, called for a separate four-way meeting including Europeans to deal with a grinding conflict that is on their doorstep.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meanwhile contradicted Trump's call to go straight for a full peace deal instead of an immediate ceasefire, calling for a truce before any leaders' summit.

He also sounded a note of caution after the talks, saying Ukraine must not be forced to give up territory to Russia.

Russian strikes overnight killed at least seven people in Ukraine, including two children.

(W.Walker--TAG)