Trump revealed the plans for a call at a brief press conference together with Zelenskyj in the Oval Office.
We will have a phone call right after the meetings today, and we may, or may not, have a three-party meeting, said Trump and referred to the possibilities of a meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyj.
And if we do not have a three-party call, the fighting will continue. But if we have it, we have good chances to maybe get an end to it (the war).
The press conference inside the Oval Office took place in an almost friendly atmosphere and the two leaders partly had a lighthearted tone in their conversation.
Joked about the election
When Zelenskyj answered a question about the difficulty of holding elections during a war, he promised that elections in Ukraine will come when there is peace. Trump then jumped in and joked that the US would not be able to hold elections in wartime either.
You would like that, wouldn't you? laughed the Ukrainian president.
Jan Hallenberg, professor emeritus at the Defense University, also thinks that their personal chemistry was better than the last time they met at the White House in February, when the US Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian president of being ungrateful to the US.
It is a much more businesslike relationship between the gentlemen. Since Zelenskyj has also made an effort. He does not just come in his warrior shirt but has put on a jacket, which is also a kind of signal, says Hallenberg.
After their meeting behind closed doors, Zelenskyj continued to praise Trump and the tone of the conversation.
We had a very good conversation and it was really our best or, sorry, the best is yet to come, he said when all the European leaders talked to Trump in front of the cameras.
No details
Even that meeting began in a good tone, where Trump praised and joked with his guests. There, Trump also said that Vladimir Putin had accepted security guarantees for Ukraine, but without specifying details.
This is one of the key issues that we must consider, he said and got support from several leaders at the table.
The issue, including what the guarantees contain, will be discussed during the leaders' meeting on Monday evening.
Another important issue is that of a ceasefire. Trump has previously said that he wants to go directly to a peace agreement, without going through a ceasefire – and repeated that stance now. But Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz were both clear that a ceasefire must be implemented.
We all want to see a ceasefire at the latest from the next summit, so we must work on it and put pressure on Russia. I want to emphasize that in this meeting, and the next meeting must be a three-party call, said the German Chancellor Merz.
