President Donald Trump put a high-stakes meeting on hold to call Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a CNN report citing a source familiar with the situation.
The meeting, held Monday at the White House, included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders. But mid-discussion, Trump abruptly paused the talks to speak with Putin. “The Europeans were not present for the conversation,” the source said.
German newspaper Bild first broke the story, reporting that negotiations were expected to resume after Trump’s private call with the Russian leader. CNN later confirmed that the meeting had restarted in a “leaders only” format in the Oval Office, according to Zelensky’s spokesperson, Serhiy Nykyforov.
A European official told CNN that Trump specifically paused the meeting “in order to call Putin.”
Zelensky and the European leaders did return to the Oval Office for further talks with Trump, a White House official confirmed.
At the same time, top U.S. military officials were also in the building. Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were both present, according to a U.S. defense official.
Gen. Caine and his team have been working on possible security guarantees for Ukraine, a source told CNN. European governments are having similar discussions. While Trump has not committed to sending U.S. troops, the source said, his openness to involvement sends a clear message. “The important part of the president’s comments was his apparent willingness to be involved in some way,” the source added.
