Even if Trump succeeds in bringing Putin and Zelenskyy together, don’t expect wonders − their only previous face-to-face encounter ended in failure

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrive at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2019. Ian Langsdon/Pool Photo via AP

Donald Trump has raised the prospect of directs talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, in what would be the first such encounter in more than three years of war between the two countries.

In a social media post on Aug. 18, 2025, the U.S. president announced that he had begun “the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined.”