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

A summit in Paris six years ago was the first and only time the two presidents ever met, flanked by French president Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s then-chancellor Angela Merkel. At the time, Putin and Zelensky were looking to hash out a ceasefire deal for war in Donbas in Ukraine’s east, where Russia-backed forces were fighting Ukrainian troops.

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.

"The Federalist" CEO Sean Davis appeared on FNC's "The Will Cain Show" on Monday and reacted to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.

On "Forbes Newsroom," Cliff May, founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies discussed President Trump's separate meetings with Putin and Zelensky.

President Trump said Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.

The Kremlin has played down talk of an imminent summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, as Donald Trump renewed his call for the two leaders to meet to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky talks puts Kremlin in a bind: accept and legitimise Kyiv’s leader or refuse and face fresh US sanctions. Read here