Trump, Zelensky Hold Lengthy Call on Flight to DC After Alaska Summit With Putin

On Monday, Volodymyr Zelensky is flying to Washington to discuss “the end of the killing and the war” with Donald Trump, the US President, the Ukrainian President announced on Saturday.

The announcement was made by Volodymyr Zelensky following a conversation with Donald Trump on the phone, when the US President told him about the central aspects of his meeting with Russia leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

"On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war," Zelensky posted on X, adding that "I am grateful for the invitation."

Zelensky said that he had a long and substantive talk with Trump and it started with a one-on-one conversation subsequently joined by other European leaders.

The meeting in Washington will happen three days after Trump met with Putin in Alaska, during which the two leaders did not declare a ceasefire or seemingly make any apparent new breakthrough to halt Moscow more than three years-long invasion.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added Trump held a long conversation with Zelensky during the trip back to the US.

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Who was on that call?

Keir Starmer, British prime minister, Emmanuel Macron, French president, Friedrich Merz, German chancellor, Mark Rutte, NATO secretary general and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European commission, were among those who joined the call later, a European Commission spokesperson said.

Afterwards, the European leaders who had feared missing out a meeting that led to Alaska had their own meeting. At the same time, Ukraine reported that Russia had sent 85 attacking drones and a ballistic missile at night after the summit.

The result of Trump-Putin meeting

Day after significant talks on the cold war between Trump and Putin, the two came out after the discussion to deliver warm words at a press briefing but refused to answer any questions by the reporters.

"We are not there yet, but we have made progress. There is no deal until there's a deal," Trump said.

He termed the encounter as a highly productive affair where “many points” were agreed upon but he declined to give more details.

"There are just a very few that are left, some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant," Trump said without elaborating.

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Next time in Moscow'

Putin as well discussed cooperation broadly at the joint press conference which was only 12 minutes.

“We hope that the understanding we have reached will... pave the way for peace in Ukraine,” Putin said.

As Trump mused about a second meeting, Putin smiled and said in English: "Next time in Moscow."

Putin had explained to Trump that he and Trump had the same belief that the Ukraine war would have not occurred had Trump been the president as opposed to Joe Biden in 2022 when Putin issued a directive to invade the country.

Prior to the summit, Trump threatened Russia with “severe consequences” in the event it refused to agree to a ceasefire.

However, in an interview with Fox News following the talks, Trump responded that due to the result of the day, he does not need to worry about the consequences anymore.

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