Trump wants to speak with Putin after call with Zelenskyy

During the dinner, Trump was asked whether, after his phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier that day, he planned to speak soon with Putin.

"Yes, I will. We are having a very good dialogue. I have settled seven wars. The one I thought would be among the easiest - you know how sometimes you expect something to be simple, and it turns out to be much tougher. I believed this conflict would be easier to resolve because of my relationship with President Putin, with Ukraine, and with everything else. I expected the Russia–Ukraine situation to be settled, but instead it has become a disaster - this week alone, 7,014 people were killed. In most cases, they were soldiers, with only a relatively small number of civilians from Kyiv. But the losses are happening on a scale we have not seen since World War II,” Trump said.

He stressed that Russia’s war against Ukraine had become the most difficult challenge for him. According to Trump, he had previously managed to resolve several long-standing conflicts.

"But this has turned out to be the most difficult of them all. You know, I settled three wars. One had dragged on for 31 years, with 10 million people killed. Another lasted 34 years, and another 37. People said they couldn’t be resolved - but I resolved them. This one has proven tougher, but we’ll get it done," he added.

Call between Zelenskyy, European leaders, and Trump

The conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European leaders, and US President Donald Trump took place after the Coalition of the Willing summit.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that the US and Europe had agreed to discuss sanctions against Russian oil and gas within the next 24 hours.

According to media reports, Trump also demanded during the call that European leaders put pressure on China, since Beijing continues to finance Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.