Trump pushes for trilateral summit with Putin and Zelenskyy as early as 22 Aug

US President Donald Trump has told European leaders that he wants to hold a trilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as early as 22 August, according to US media reports.

Zelenskyy confirmed in an X post on Saturday that he will meet Trump in Washington on Monday, a meeting that European leaders have also been invited to attend. German chancellor Friedrich Merz said a trilateral summit is expected to follow. The Kremlin, however, has not publicly committed to such a meeting.

Reports citing Russian news agency Tass said Trump floated a possible peace deal in calls with European leaders after his Alaska meeting with Putin on 15 August. Under the proposal, Ukraine would cede the remaining Donbass region to Russia in exchange for a ceasefire along current frontlines and security guarantees for Kyiv and Europe.

Дякую за підтримку! Всі вказані пункти важливі, щоб можна було досягти дійсно сталого та надійного миру. Бачимо, що Росія відкидає численні вимоги щодо припинення вогню і досі не визначила, коли припинить вбивства. Це ускладнює ситуацію. Якщо в них немає волі реалізувати простий…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2025

Trump-Putin meeting: 3 hours of talks on Ukraine crisis, claim of 'big progress', but no ceasefire announced

Trump and Putin met for nearly three hours at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base, holding both one-on-one talks and small-group discussions. The Russian side included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, while the US side featured Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Following the talks, Putin said discussions largely centered on resolving the Ukraine conflict, while Trump described the summit as “very productive.” He later held calls with Zelenskyy, EU leaders, NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, stressing that Ukraine and Russia should move directly toward a final peace agreement.

Trump is expected to meet Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday and indicated that, if successful, it would pave the way for another meeting with Putin.

With IANS inputs