Trump briefed Zelensky, European leaders on Putin talks

WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS: US President Donald Trump had a “lengthy call” with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on the flight back to Washington after the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin yielded no ceasefire, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Trump also spoke with NATO leaders, Leavitt told reporters on Air Force One. The president disembarked from the plane at 2:45 am Saturday local time (0645 GMT) and did not respond to reporters’ questions.

US President Donald Trump spoke early Saturday with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders to discuss his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a European Commission spokesperson said.

European leaders held a second call afterwards to discuss the next steps in the Ukraine conflict, the spokesperson said.

Trump spoke for more than an hour with Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, the spokesperson said.

According to the Ukrainian presidency, Trump spoke first with Zelensky and then the other European leaders joined the call.

After the summit, at which Trump and Putin did not agree on a path to end Russia’s invasion, the European leaders were holding their own telephone diplomacy session to debrief on the talks, the EU spokesperson added.

There had been unease among European leaders over Trump’s outreach to Putin.

A call between European leaders regarding the US-Russia summit was underway Saturday following an initial exchange with President Donald Trump, a spokesperson for the European Commission said.

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte are among the participants, the same source said.