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But Trump didn’t stop there. He revealed that he had already reached out directly to Vladimir Putin to begin planning a face-to-face meeting between the Russian president and Zelensky. “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 wrote. “After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself.”
Trump emphasized the importance of this effort, calling it “a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.” He noted that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are spearheading ongoing talks with both sides to keep momentum alive.
European leaders who participated in the summit echoed Trump’s optimism. Zelensky himself praised the outcome, saying, “I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump… it was really good. We spoke about very sensitive points.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte went further, directly thanking Trump for breaking through a long diplomatic stalemate. “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.”
Finnish President Alexander Stubb highlighted the rapid progress: “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.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also underscored the turning point created by Trump’s leadership, declaring, “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.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer added that the day will likely be remembered as a milestone. “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.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz connected the White House summit to Trump’s recent talks in Alaska 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.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised the progress too, stressing the wider impact of Trump’s leadership. “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.”
French President Emmanuel Macron echoed the same theme, thanking Trump for organizing the summit. “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.”
The meeting underscored Trump’s determination to position himself as the one leader capable of ending a conflict that global elites have failed to resolve for years. With Putin and Zelensky now expected to come face-to-face, Trump’s bold diplomacy has opened the door to what could be the most significant peace effort since the war began.
