President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Kyiv and its partners were considering setting up a meeting of the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, the US, EU countries and Britain as part of a push to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine.Speaking to reporters in Kyiv after holding two phone calls on Monday with US President Donald Trump, the Ukrainian president said he hoped the meeting could happen as soon as possible and that it could be hosted by Turkiye, the Vatican or Switzerland.A source familiar with the matter earlier said Zelenskyy spoke “for a few minutes” with Trump before the US president’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kyiv has said it is ready for a ceasefire now while Moscow has said conditions must be met first. In his social media post, Trump said the Vatican, “as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!”European leaders welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s readiness to host the talks at the Vatican, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni said on Monday. Meloni’s office said Zelenskyy, French President Macron and German Chancellor Merz, spoke to Trump after his call with Putin. “Work is underway to immediately start negotiations between the parties that can lead to a ceasefire as soon as possible and build the conditions for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” Meloni’s office said in a statement.“In this regard, the Holy Father’s willingness to host the talks at the Vatican was considered positive. Italy is ready to do its part to facilitate contacts and work for peace,” the statement added.Putin and Trump spoke after direct talks last week in Turkiye between Moscow and Kyiv, the first since 2022 in the early monthsof Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Talks last week failed to agree on a truce. US vice-president JD Vance earlier repeated a warning that Washington could walk away from the peace process.Putin said the memorandum would define “a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement”. He said that if appropriate agreements were reached, there could be a ceasefire, adding that direct talks between Russia and Ukrainegave “reason to believe that we are generally on the right track.” “The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis,” Putin said.“We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace.”He thanked Trump for supporting the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv and said Trump noted Russia’s support forpeace, though the key question was how to move towards peace. Trump, who has promised to bring a swift end to Europe’s deadliest war since WWII, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire after three years when Washington joined other Western countries in arming Ukraine.
