Trump asked to host Putin-Zelenskyy meeting on US soil, Ukrainian leader proposes

Behind the scenes of a potential Zelenskyy-Putin summit

According to Главком: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has raised the idea of arranging a face-to-face meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the United States during a conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. The discussion took place on June 14, when Zelenskyy also extended birthday greetings to Trump on his 80th birthday. The phone call lasted roughly 30 minutes and was described as both normal and substantive.

During the call, Zelenskyy pointed out that Ukraine had previously offered to meet Putin anywhere to make decisions that could bring the war to an end. However, he noted that "he does not want that." The conversation also touched on the possibility of holding a meeting with Russia on the sidelines of the G7 summit, involving democratic nations, but Putin has turned down earlier proposals for such a gathering.

Why staging the meeting in the U.S. matters

Zelenskyy stressed the significance of hosting the meeting in the United States, stating that

“such a meeting could be organized in the U.S. in a format where it would be much harder for Putin to refuse, at least to President Trump.”

He also expressed hope that if Russia were to reject this opportunity as well, "additional pressure would be needed."

Ukraine had already submitted an official request to meet with Putin during the G7 summit in the French town of Évian-les-Bains, but that proposal was also declined.

The discussion about a potential Zelenskyy-Putin meeting highlights Ukraine's ongoing diplomatic efforts to find a resolution to the conflict with Russia. Despite repeated rejections from the Kremlin, Kyiv continues to leverage international platforms like the G7 to increase pressure on Moscow and engage the global community in addressing the situation. This reflects Ukraine's commitment to pursuing a peaceful settlement while strengthening its standing on the world stage.