President Donald Trump touted the private meeting he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Group of Seven summit on Tuesday as a “very good meeting” and said he would meet with Zelensky again the same day.
Trump was expected to meet with Zelensky during a working session with G7 leaders, but they did not have a private conversation already scheduled before the president arrived in Evian, France, this week, where the summit is being held. Zelensky and Trump also do not have a bilateral meeting scheduled during the G7.
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Trump called for an end to the over-four-year war between Russia and Ukraine while in Evian and claimed to have spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday. “Russia should make a deal,” he said.
“They just keep going, fighting, losing soldiers,” Trump also said of the war. “They lose so many soldiers. This is — not since World War II is anything like this.”
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Zelensky confirmed the meeting by posting photos of himself and Trump on X, with the caption, “It is always important to coordinate positions.”
Tuesday’s working session at the G7 titled “Peacebuilding and security for Ukraine and Europe” focused on military support for Ukraine and options to negotiate a peace deal.
During a bilateral meeting with Macron on Monday, Trump signaled that he would focus more of his efforts on the Russia-Ukraine war after signing a memorandum of understanding with Iran on Friday that will help end the war in the Middle East.
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“We had a very good conversation yesterday with President Zelensky and President Putin, and I see maybe we can do something — I really do,” Trump told reporters. “I think they’re both open to it.”
“Now that this [Iran campaign] is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that — see if we can get that one done,” Trump added. “Twenty-five thousand people a month are dying, mostly soldiers, and that shouldn’t happen. I had two very good conversations yesterday. We’ll be talking about it.”
