The Kremlin for its part has stayed evasive. Putin on Monday told Trump he was "open" to the idea of direct talks with Ukraine, but by the next day foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had watered down that already vague commitment.

President Trump seeks to broker a meeting of the two leaders to end Europe’s most destructive war in generations.

Why it matters: Putin has shown no interest in sitting down with Zelensky through 3.5 years of war. President Trump claims that's now changed, and that a presidential meeting is the key to unlocking peace.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could meet within the next two weeks thanks to President Trump’s efforts to bring an end to the war, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The Kremlin hasn't ruled out summits but has said they could only meet in the very final stages of clinching a peace agreement.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered this line in response to criticism of President Trump inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to U.S. territory: "He displayed a huge amount of military hardware and then did a flyover.

The Ukrainian leader's visit to the White House in February ended in a heated argument. Monday's meeting with President Trump was less fraught.

P resident Donald Trump is scheduled Monday afternoon to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, where six months ago the two leaders engaged in a televised shouting match that threw into doubt how long the U.S. would continue its support for Ukraine against a Russia invasion.