U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly interrupted a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on Monday to call Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The initial report came from Paul Ronzheimer, deputy editor of the German tabloid Bild, and was later confirmed by Sky News and Reuters. According to Sky News, Trump spoke with Putin in a separate part of the White House, away from where Zelensky and European leaders were meeting.
Earlier, Trump had indicated he would call Putin after Monday’s discussions. However, an E.U. diplomat told Reuters that making the call during the meeting could be a positive sign, allowing Ukraine’s supporters to “get the last word.”
On his Truth Social platform, Trump confirmed that the call marked the beginning of preparations for a future meeting between Zelensky and Putin. “At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” he wrote. “After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself.”
