U.S. President Donald Trump briefly left a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders on Monday to place a telephone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to reports from German daily Bild that were subsequently carried by Reuters and other media outlets. The multilateral session—focused on securing a path toward ending the war in Ukraine—was expected to resume once the call concluded, the reports said. Trump had earlier indicated he would speak with Putin after wrapping up the talks with the delegation that included French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. No details of the conversation with Putin were immediately released. The outreach comes three days after Trump and Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska, their first in-person encounter since Trump returned to the White House, fueling speculation about possible direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. European leaders have pressed for a cease-fire and security guarantees for Ukraine, while Trump has floated the idea of a trilateral summit with Zelensky and Putin. Neither the White House nor the Kremlin provided comment on Monday’s phone call.