Trump calls Putin ahead of Zelensky meeting

The US president has said he had a “very productive” conversation with his Russian counterpart

US President Donald Trump has said he has talked to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, ahead of his meeting on Sunday with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. The two had a “very productive” conversation, the American president wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The Kremlin confirmed the two presidents talked by phone but did not provide any details of the conversation.

Trump is expected to meet Zelensky in Florida. On Friday, the Ukrainian leader told Axios that he anticipates reaching an agreement on a peace framework during the discussions. The plan would reportedly require Russia to agree to a ceasefire prior to any permanent settlement.

Moscow has repeatedly rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire, which would allow the Ukrainian military to rearm and regroup. Russia has instead insisted on a permanent peace if Kiev recognizes the new territorial realities and commits to neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification.

Earlier this week, Zelensky also revealed his new 20-point peace proposal, which he claimed had been discussed with US officials. Moscow dismissed it as a non-starter. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Friday that the proposal was “radically different” from the plan discussed by Moscow and Washington and can barely be called a peace plan.

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