Trump plans second Putin meeting on eve of Zelenskyy visit

U.S. President Donald Trump said he held a productive phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, and he planned to hold a second in-person meeting in the coming weeks. According to a recap Trump posted on social media, the pair discussed postwar trade deals between Russia and the United States, and Putin congratulated him on helping broker a successful peace deal in the Middle East. Trump said the Russian president also thanked first lady Melania Trump for her work to reunite Ukrainian children being held in Russia with their families.

The pair agreed that high-level advisers from each side would meet next week at an undetermined location, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the American delegation. After initial meetings, Trump said, he and Putin would meet in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss ending the war. The latest meeting announcement came about two months after the pair’s last face-to-face meeting at the Alaska summit in mid-August.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday afternoon the discussions would continue as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy comes to the White House on Friday. Trump would love to see Zelenskyy and Putin meet as well and thinks it's possible, Leavitt added.

What is planned for Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy? Zelenskyy released a Wednesday statement saying all military and economic details were ready for a planned, substantive discussion with Trump. The United States wields important global influence, so this meeting will truly bring the war closer to ending, Zelenskyy added. The scheduled meeting came days after Trump floated the idea of selling Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles, which would allow Ukrainian forces to launch airstrikes deeper into Russian territory.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker released a statement outlining Trump’s message to both sides of the conflict hours before the president publicized his call with Putin. Trump is working as peacemaker-in-chief and will continue petitioning both sides to end the killing, Whitaker said.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report on Trump’s comments about Tomahawk missiles.