Five things we learned from Trump’s meeting with Zelensky ahead of Putin summit

US President Donald Trump has wrapped up a virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders two days before his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The call on Wednesday served as the last opportunity – that we know of – for Zelensky and several European heads to speak directly to Trump ahead of his one-on-one with Putin in Alaska set for Friday.

Zelensky was not invited to join his American and Russian counterparts for the high-profile meeting in Anchorage because it is being held ‘at the request of president Putin’, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday.

But Trump after the virtual conference reiterated that he hopes to arrange a second meeting including Putin and Zelensky ‘almost immediately’ if Friday’s summit ‘goes OK’.

‘There’s a very good chance we’re going to have a second meeting, which will be more productive than the first because the first is, I’m going to find out where we are and what we’re doing,’ said Trump.

The US president said he would attend the hypothetical second meeting ‘if they’d like to have me there’.

He characterised the virtual meeting as ‘a very good call’.

Below are five takeaways from Trump’s call with Zelensky and leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO chief Mark Rutte.

‘Ceasefire first’

During a press conference in Berlin alongside Merz after the video call, Zelensky said that ‘there should be a ceasefire first, then security guarantees – real security guarantees’.

He added that Trump ‘expressed his support for that’.

The Ukrainian president said that ‘sanctions should be strengthened if Russia will not go for a ceasefire in Alaska’.

Merz echoed Zelensky’s sentiment, saying that a ceasefire must be first in any agreement and that Ukraine needs ‘robust guarantees’.

‘Land swap’ disagreement

A day before the virtual conference, Trump again pushed for Zelensky to agree to give up territory to Russia as part of a peace deal.

Zelensky afterward reaffirmed that he will not surrender the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. He said he has ‘no right’ to cede his country’s land and that ‘my position is not changing’.

‘Any issue which deals with the territorial integrity of Ukraine cannot be discussed just like that, without looking at our constitution and the will of our people,’ Zelensky said.

‘As to our principles, as to our territorial integrity, in the end, will be decided on the level of leaders. Without Ukraine (at the table), it’s impossible to achieve.’

Putin ‘does not want peace’

Zelensky insisted that Putin ‘definitely does not want peace’ and that ‘he wants to occupy Ukraine’.

‘Putin cannot fool anyone,’ said the Ukrainian president.

Zelensky also thinks that Putin is ‘bluffing’ about the impact that increased sanctions have had on Russia.

‘Sanctions are hitting Russia’s war economy hard,’ he said.

‘Credible security guarantees‘

Starmer said that a peace deal must have security guarantees for Ukraine.

‘The Prime Minister was clear that our support for Ukraine is unwavering,’ said a Downing Street spokesperson.

‘International borders must not be changed by force and Ukraine must have robust and credible security guarantees to defend its territorial integrity as part of any deal.’

European leaders ‘thanked President Trump for his efforts in bringing Putin to the table in pursuit of a ceasefire to end to the ongoing bloodshed’, the Downing Street readout continued.

‘The ball is now in Putin’s court’

European leaders who joined the call shared positive feedback around it, and said that the next move lies with Putin.

‘We are united in pushing to end to this terrible war against (Ukraine) and achieve just and lasting peace,’ wrote NATO chief Rutte on X.

‘Appreciate (Trump’s) leadership and close coordination with Allies. The ball is now in Putin’s court.’

Merz said that the Trump-Putin summit could result in ‘major decisions’ and that European leaders are ‘doing everything we can in order to lay the groundwork to make sure that this meeting goes the right way’.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on social media that the meeting was ‘very good’ and that ‘we will remain in close coordination – nobody wants peace more than us, a just and lasting peace’.

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