Donald Trump has announced plans are underway for a historic meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.

It comes after the Kremlin confirmed the US President spoke with the Russian President for 40 minutes in the middle of his talks with Mr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House.

Posting on social media, Mr Trump said: "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 Zelensky.

"After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself."

Although the US President did not reference a timeline, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the Mr Trump and Mr Putin "agreed that there will be a meeting between the Russian President and the Ukrainian President within the next two weeks".

The German leader added it would be "desirable, and more than that, that there be a ceasefire in Ukraine at the latest with this meeting".

He added: "President Zelensky, for his part, said that he can hardly imagine having such a meeting with Putin without there being a ceasefire."

Mr Zelensky had previously said he was "ready" for direct face-to-face talks with the Russian leader.

|

REUTERS