President Donald Trump said after talks at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders that he is arranging a face-to-face meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin and is prepared to join the session if the two leaders cannot reach a breakthrough on their own. Zelenskyy welcomed the initiative, telling reporters Ukraine "would be happy" for Trump’s participation, while stressing his readiness for direct negotiations with Putin to end the three-and-a-half-year war. Trump spoke with Putin following the Washington meetings and, according to the White House, urged the Kremlin leader to hold bilateral talks with Zelenskyy within weeks. Should those discussions stall, a trilateral summit involving Trump could follow. The US president said he wants "to see what happens" at the bilateral before deciding whether to attend, but added that he would do so "if necessary" in order to "close" a peace deal. Talks in Washington also covered possible security guarantees for Ukraine that would be financed and led primarily by European nations, with Washington offering arms sales rather than troop deployments. Trump ruled out sending US forces and cast Kyiv’s hopes of regaining Crimea or joining NATO as "impossible," underscoring the concessions likely to dominate any eventual settlement. Putin has yet to publicly commit to the proposed meetings, and European leaders cautioned that even a preliminary cease-fire will be needed before substantive negotiations can begin.