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Effort for imaginable Zelenskyy-Putin gathering
Washington — President Trump is moving to coordinate a meeting betwixt Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which would beryllium the archetypal face-to-face enactment betwixt the 2 leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine more than 3 years ago.
Asked astir arranging the gathering connected Tuesday, Mr. Trump said connected Fox & Friends that helium would fto Putin and Zelenskyy conscionable archetypal earlier getting progressive himself, saying "they haven't been precisely champion friends."
"I anticipation President Putin is going to beryllium good, and if he's not, that's going to beryllium a unsmooth situation," Mr. Trump said. He noted that he's hopeful Zelenskyy volition "do what helium has to do," saying helium has to "show immoderate flexibility also."
Mr. Trump's efforts travel 1 time aft an bonzer bid of meetings astatine the White House betwixt the U.S. president, Zelenskyy and European leaders. In a show of unity, Zelenskyy and the European leaders stressed the value of information guarantees successful a bid deal, which Mr. Trump said could travel with U.S. coordination.
President Trump shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a gathering successful the Oval Office astatine the White House connected Aug. 18, 2025, successful Washington, D.C.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
Attention has present turned to a imaginable acme betwixt Putin and Zelenskyy. After Monday's meetings, Mr. Trump said helium called Putin to acceptable up the meeting, and helium "picked it up precise happily," contempt the precocious hr successful Russia. Mr. Trump called it a "very bully call."
"I told him that we're going to acceptable up a gathering with President Zelenskyy, and you and helium volition meet, and past aft that meeting, if everything works retired OK, I'll conscionable and we'll wrapper it up," Mr. Trump said. He added that it takes "two to tango," and that "they person to person somewhat of a relationship, otherwise, we're conscionable wasting a batch of time."
Zelenskyy told CBS News soon aft leaving the White House that a day had not been acceptable to conscionable with Putin, though German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said it could beryllium wrong the adjacent 2 weeks. In a post connected X Tuesday, Zelenskyy called the talks successful Washington "truly a important measurement toward ending the warfare and ensuring the information of Ukraine and our people."
"We are already moving connected the factual contented of the information guarantees," Zelenskyy said. "Today, we proceed coordination astatine the level of leaders. There volition beryllium discussions, and we are preparing the applicable formats."
A Russian spokesperson would lone accidental that high-level talks would instrumentality place, but would not corroborate that Putin would beryllium involved.
Mr. Trump, who met with Putin successful Alaska past week, expressed urgency astir the timing of the adjacent meeting, suggesting that waiting excessively agelong would effect successful thousands of deaths. In what appeared to beryllium a blistery mic infinitesimal Monday, Mr. Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron that Putin "wants to marque a woody for me."
The president outlined connected Fox that helium has been amazed that Zelenskyy and Putin are "getting on a small spot amended than I thought," adding that "they're the ones that person to telephone the shots."
"We're going to find retired astir President Putin successful the adjacent mates of weeks, that I tin archer you, and we're going to spot wherever it each goes," Mr. Trump said. "It's imaginable that helium doesn't privation to marque a deal."
Meanwhile, information guarantees for Ukraine emerged arsenic a cardinal contented during Monday's meetings, with Zelenskyy calling them a "starting constituent towards ending the war."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the U.S. volition enactment with European and different allies to supply information guarantees for Ukraine aft the war, though helium did not supply specifics. And Macron said discussions connected what the U.S. is consenting to supply could statesman arsenic soon arsenic Tuesday.
On the information guarantees, Mr. Trump said the European leaders are "willing to enactment radical connected the ground," and that "we're consenting to assistance them with things, especially, astir apt if you could speech astir by aerial due to the fact that there's cipher has the benignant of worldly we have." But the president added that "I don't deliberation it's going to beryllium a problem."
"There volition beryllium immoderate signifier of security," Mr. Trump said. "It can't beryllium NATO, due to the fact that that was a — that's conscionable not thing that would ever, ever happen."
Nancy Cordes contributed to this report.
Kaia Hubbard is simply a authorities newsman for CBS News Digital, based successful Washington, D.C.
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