Trump pushes for peace summit with US, Russia and Ukraine

The plan represents a bold and potentially risky maneuver by Trump to move toward settling the bloody war without achieving a cease-fire first and with Kyiv and Moscow still seemingly far apart on the terms of a final deal.

Trump touted the idea for the peace conference during an Oval Office meeting with Zelensky and in talks with European leaders who joined the Ukrainian president at the White House on Monday. He said he would put the idea directly to Putin in a call, and paused his meeting with the leaders to do so, according to European officials. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.

A key issue for Kyiv and their European allies is whether the U.S. is willing to extend security commitments to Ukraine as part of a settlement. Trump said that the U.S. would be involved in a potential European effort to deploy peacekeepers, but didn’t specify what the American role might be.

The proposal for a three-way summit came three days after Trump failed to persuade Putin to back a cease-fire at a summit meeting in Alaska and shelved his vow to impose economic sanctions on Moscow, the latest zigzag by Trump in his quest to end the conflict.

Only hours after insisting in a social-media post it was up to Zelensky to end the war, Trump praised the Ukrainian leader during remarks before their private meeting, a far different than their February Oval Office meeting when Trump and Vice President JD Vance excoriated Zelensky.

“This gentleman wants it to end, and Vladimir Putin wants it to end," Trump said with Zelensky at his side. “We’re going to get it ended."

It was unclear what concrete proposals the White House might suggest to bridge the differences between Moscow and Kyiv if a three-way meeting is convened and what role the U.S. would play to help European nations secure the peace.

As part of a discussion of possible territorial concessions, Trump and Zelensky reviewed a U.S.-prepared map of eastern Ukraine showing the percentage of Ukrainian territory held by Russia. Donetsk, which Russia wants Ukraine troops to leave under its negotiating proposal and contains some of Ukraine’s most robust defenses, was shown as 76% held by Russian forces.

Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said that the U.S. pledge to help a European peacekeeping effort was a “breakthrough." But Trump stopped sort of publicly promising to put U.S. boots on the ground in Ukraine while vowing some form of American support to European nations that deploy a so-called “reassurance force" there if a peace agreement is reached.

What territory Ukraine might be asked to give up was unclear, along with whether Kyiv would be asked to accept the de facto partition of its territory or Russia’s legal sovereignty over areas Moscow claims to have annexed. Ukraine’s Constitution forbids trading land, Zelensky said in Brussels on Sunday, and such a matter could only be discussed in the talks between Russia, Ukraine and the U.S.

Despite the harmony of Monday’s meetings, Trump and some European leaders differ over the urgency of a cease-fire. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron proposed in their remarks that a halt in the fighting be put in place before the prospective three-way summit.

The point of such a cease-fire would be to prevent Russia from playing for time and trying to gain more ground in Ukraine while the leaders talk. But Trump insisted no cease-fire was necessary to reach a deal, adding that it would be clear within one or two weeks—or perhaps sooner—whether the gambit will go forward.

Zelenksy approved the idea, saying “we are ready" for a trilateral meeting. But the Kremlin said earlier this month that Putin would only meet with Zelensky when “the appropriate distance is overcome."

The Russian leader has long insisted that no settlement can be agreed without addressing what he calls the “root causes" of the conflict, his shorthand for Ukraine’s drift toward the West and NATO’s role in central Europe.

Zelensky is likely to face White House pressure to make concessions. After meeting with Putin, Trump wrote in a social media message that Zelensky would never regain Crimea, which Russia annexed after its initial invasion in 2014. On Friday, Trump urged Ukraine in a Fox News interview to compromise with Putin because “Russia’s a very big power, and they are not."

The day began with Zelensky’s meeting with Trump and Vance in the Oval Office. Vance, unlike in their February encounter, didn’t chime in when the press was present.

Zelensky has worked hard to repair his relationship with the White House since then, and this time, the leaders appeared at pains to turn the page.

Trump noted that Zelensky had traded his signature military attire for a black suit jacket and button-down shirt. Trump looked him up and down approvingly, shook his hand and both men grinned. “We love them," Trump said when asked for his message to the Ukrainian people.

Zelensky thanked Trump and the U.S. eight times in his opening remarks, after being accused on his last White House visit of failing to sufficiently show appreciation for U.S. assistance. Trump, who on Friday labeled Zelensky, a “dictator," repeatedly addressed him Monday as “president."

For many Ukrainians, Monday’s meetings started off as an uphill struggle. Before his Alaska summit with Putin on Friday, Trump said there would be “very severe consequences" if Putin didn’t agree to end the war and vowed to press for a cease-fire. But Trump has put aside the talk of imposing tougher sanctions despite Russia’s refusal to agree to a fighting moratorium

Trump also must navigate some hazards as he pursues a peace deal. His political base is deeply suspicious of getting the U.S. involved in foreign conflicts, and he came to power with an isolationist message. Trump’s former top adviser, Steve Bannon, offered a taste of where Trump’s base might go.

“These DEMON EU LEADERS coming to the White House want us funding a forever war. Fighting to the last Ukrainian," Bannon posted on X. “Sending 60-year-olds as cannon fodder while their kids dodge the draft. And they still want our boys and girls? NO! MAGA WILL NOT CAVE!"

Write to Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com and Annie Linskey at annie.linskey@wsj.com