Following the summit, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had called Putin to begin "arranging" bilateral talks between the Russian leader and Zelensky.
Trump said that following such a bilateral between Putin and Zelensky, at a location to be determined, there would be a trilateral where the US president would join them.$XO
A Putin adviser said afterwards that Trump and Putin spoke for 40 minutes by phone on Monday.
Before European leaders sat down with Trump in the East Room at the White House, a hot mic picked up remarks between the US leader and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Watch: Trump caught on hot mic saying Putin 'wants to make a deal for me'
"I think he wants to make a deal. I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand that? As crazy as that sounds," Trump told Macron, appearing to refer to Putin.
It remains to be seen how straightforward it will be to bring two such bitter enemies face-to-face at the negotiating table for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.$CRV
For months, Zelensky has been pushing to meet Putin, although this was likely a way of proving his argument that Russia is not serious about pursuing peace, as he believed the Kremlin had no interest in such a meeting.
Moscow has repeatedly turned down the idea of a Putin-Zelensky sit-down.
A noncommittal statement from Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov on Monday night said it was "worthwhile" to "explore the possibility of raising the level of representatives" from the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in negotiations.
