Trump says he is planning to meet Putin, Zelensky: media report

NEW YORK - US President Donald Trump intends to meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week and plans to follow up shortly afterward with a trilateral meeting involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the plan.

During a call with European leaders on Wednesday, Trump said the meetings would include only himself, Putin, and Zelensky, excluding any European counterparts, according to the report.

A person familiar with the call said the Europeans appeared to accept what Trump proposed. However, it remained unclear whether Putin and Zelensky had agreed to the plan, the newspaper noted.

Zelensky took part in the call, which also included leaders of Britain, Germany, Finland and NATO, along with US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, according to the report.

Trump said on Wednesday in a post on Truth Social that Witkoff, who was in Moscow, "had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin."

"Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come," he added.