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Trump Calls Putin Directly
The former—and possibly future—Commander-in-Chief wasn’t content to stop at talking. He revealed that he personally phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately after the session ended.
“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,” Trump said. “After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself.”
Trump wrapped up his remarks by stressing the significance of the progress: “Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.”
Zelensky and Europe Respond
Zelensky, who has been fighting to keep international support alive, sounded unusually optimistic after meeting with Trump.
“I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump… it was really good. We spoke about very sensitive points,” he told reporters.
NATO’s new Secretary General Mark Rutte gave Trump credit for changing the dynamics with Moscow. “I really want to thank you, President of the United States, dear Donald, for the fact that you, as I said before, broke the deadlock basically with President Putin by starting the dialogue … From there, here we are today,” Rutte stated.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb reinforced the point, saying, “I think in the past two weeks, we’ve probably had more progress in ending this war than we have in the past three-and-a-half years.”
Europe Gives Trump Credit
The European leaders lined up with praise. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made it clear the meeting represented a turning point. “It is an important day — a new phase — after three years that we didn’t see any kind of sign from the Russian side that they were willing for dialogue, so something is changing — something has changed — thanks to you,” she said.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed the same theme, calling the gathering a landmark moment. “I think today will be seen as a very important day in recent years in relation to a conflict which has gone on for three-and-a-bit years, and so far, nobody has been able to bring it to this point — so I thank you for that.”
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz tied the progress back to Trump’s recent Alaska summit with Putin. “This is extremely helpful that we are meeting and hearing that the two of you are having such a good meeting today … The path is open. You opened it last Friday — but now the way is open for complicated negotiations,” he observed.
NATO and France Join the Chorus
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the alliance is unified behind Trump’s initiative. “We had a fantastic NATO Summit… We had the largest trade deal ever — agreed. And now, we are here to work together with you on a… lasting peace for Ukraine. Stop the killing. This is really our common interest,” she said.
French President Emmanuel Macron added his voice to the mix, thanking Trump directly: “Thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this meeting and for your commitment… everybody around this table is in favor of peace… this is why the idea of a trilateral meeting is very important because this is the only way to fix it.”
A Path Toward Peace?
What’s striking is that nearly every European leader went out of their way to highlight Trump’s role in breaking the stalemate with Russia. While the Biden administration spent years failing to resolve the crisis, Trump’s one-two punch—first with Putin in Alaska, and now this White House summit—has leaders across the globe openly admitting progress is finally being made.
Whether this leads to a Trump-brokered sit-down between Zelensky and Putin remains to be seen. But for the first time in years, the world isn’t just talking about endless war. Thanks to Trump, there’s suddenly a very real discussion about peace.
