Trump Touts ‘Very Productive’ Call With Putin Just Before Mar-a-Lago Showdown With Zelensky

(Sergey Bobylev / Sputnik via AP) (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

President Donald Trump posted an optimistic Truth Social message Sunday morning about Vladimir Putin, right before his meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss ending the war with Russia.

“I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” Trump wrote. “The meeting will take place in the main dining room of Mar-a-Lago. Press is invited.”

Zelensky told reporters last week that he has come up with a new 20-point plan for peace that includes a proposed demilitarized zone requiring Russia to withdraw its forces from a stretch of land in Donetsk. Ukrainian officials have described the plan as “an attempt to show flexibility without conceding territory,” Politico reported.

When asked about this new plan, Trump told Politico the Ukrainian president “doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” adding, “So we’ll see what he’s got.”

Trump also told The New York Post he believed there was a “good shot” that Ukraine and Russia were finally ready for a lasting a peace deal.

“I settled eight wars, and this is the most difficult of them all,” Trump said. “But I think we’ll get it done.”

Trump added, “I think they want to do it now, and I think that Russia wants to do it. But every time one wants to do it, the other doesn’t.” Trump has said he believed Russia’s poor economy may force Putin to agree to peace.

“Their economy is in tough shape, very tough shape,” Trump  told Politico.

Russia has shown no sign of ending its bombing campaign against Ukraine. On Saturday, Putin’s troops pummeled the nation’s capital, wounding at least 11 people and leaving nearly a third of the capital without heat, according to Kyiv’s mayor.

Hundreds of thousands of people have died on both sides since Russian invaded Ukraine in 2022.