Moscow REFUSES to commit to Putin-Zelensky peace talks, saying 40-minute call with Trump was only 'fairly constructive' - as Finland's PM questions if 'untrustworthy' Kremlin despot has 'courage' needed to act following US-led bid to end Ukraine war
By Olivia Christie, Andy Jehring and Mark Nicol
Daily Mail
Aug 18, 2025
President Zelensky shakes hands with President Trump during talks on Monday
Vladimir Putin has failed to commit to peace talks with President Zelensky - fuelling fears he will pull out of efforts to end the Ukraine war at the last minute.
It comes as the Kremlin branded a 40-minute phone call between President Trump and Putin on Monday as 'frank' and only 'fairly constructive'.
Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov made the comments as he confirmed the pair had explored 'raising the level of representatives of Moscow and Kyiv at the talks'.
Meanwhile, the Finnish prime minister also urged caution about the prospects for peace in Ukraine - as he labelled his Russian counterpart as 'untrustworthy'.
Speaking after he left Trump's historic talks in the White House with Zelensky and other European leaders, Alexander Stubb said: 'Putin is rarely to be trusted.
'So now it remains to be seen whether he has the courage to come to this type of meeting.
'Does he have the courage to come to a trilateral meeting, or is he once again playing for time?'
Stubb's rhetoric was in stark contrast to that of President Trump who hailed the success of Monday's talks in the White House.
Vladimir Putin has failed to commit to peace talks with fears growing he will drop out at the last minute
Trump, Zelensky and European leaders meet at the Oval Office on Monday
Mr Trump told reporters: 'If everything works out well, we will have a tri-lat [between himself, Zelensky and Putin] and have a good chance of ending the war.'
President Zelensky also said he is ready to sit down for face-to-face talks with Vladimir Putin at the extraordinary Oval Office love-in.
It comes as William Browder, an expert on Russian foreign policy, warned that Putin's life depends on the continuation of the Ukraine war.
Writing in Monday's Daily Mail, he said: 'For Vladimir Putin, an outbreak of peace means certain death – by assassination, overthrow and execution, or in an international prison cell as a war criminal.
'The Russian president's only credible hope of survival in the gangster state he has himself created is to prolong the "special military operation" in Ukraine or to win in such outrageously successful terms that he can turn his attention to other former client states, other victims.
'Survival, after all, was Putin's objective in launching the invasion in 2022.'
French president Emmanuel Macron, however, called for stepping up sanctions against Russia if Putin backtracks on peace in Ukraine.
He told reporters: 'President Trump believes we can get an agreement and believes that President Putin also wants a peace accord.
'But if at the end this process is met by refusal, we are also ready to say that we need to increase sanctions.'
Monday's meeting, which was praised by Zelensky as the best he had with Trump, saw the two presidents swap praises as they sought to make progress towards peace.
However, lots of questions remained unanswered early on Tuesday morning as to what that would look like or how it would come about.
The Finnish prime minister also urged caution about the prospects for peace in Ukraine - as he labelled his Russian counterpart as 'untrustworthy'
Fresh from his Alaskan summit with Vladimir Putin, Mr Trump said he was prepared to provide military support to Kyiv in the event of a peace deal.
'We will give them very good protection, very good security,' the President said.
'There'll be a lot of help when it comes to security. It's going to be good.'
Mr Trump refused three times to rule out putting American boots on the ground though any assistance is more likely to come in the form of air support.
The hastily arranged scenes at the White House saw a contingent of European leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, puts summer holiday plans to the side and arrive at the West Wing to stand with Mr Zelensky.
They were locked in talks on Monday night as Mr Trump pledged they would 'come to a resolution today on almost everything, including probably security'.
He had earlier spent an hour with just his Ukrainian counterpart, presenting him with a giant battlefield map showing the 20 per cent of the country under Russian control.
The 'possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact' was up for discussion, the President said.
Mr Trump told reporters: 'If everything works out well, we will have a tri-lat [between himself, Zelensky and Putin] and have a good chance of ending the war.'
Responding calmly to a provocative first question from an American journalist over whether he is prepared 'to keep sending Ukrainian troops to their deaths', Mr Zelensky said he was ready to sit down with Putin.
'We support the idea of the United States, of personally President Trump, to stop this war, to make a diplomatic way of finishing this war', he said. 'And we are ready for a trilateral, as the president said.
'This is a good signal about trilateral. I think this is very good.'
The meeting was a complete contrast to the pair's bust-up in February, which saw Mr Zelensky effectively kicked out of the White House, with the US President this time complimenting his opposite number for his 'fabulous' military-style suit.
Mr Trump opened graciously, saying it was 'an honour' to receive the Ukrainian President and that the two men have had 'a lot of good talks' making 'substantial progress'.
Mr Zelensky responded in turn, saying thank you seven times in his opening speech after last time being dressed down by Vice President JD Vance for his supposed ingratitude over American support.
In another dramatic day of diplomacy over the future of Europe:
- Sir Keir joined the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the EU and NATO in supporting Mr Zelensky in an unprecedented day at the White House
- The US President was due to phone Putin directly on Monday to update him on the talks
- Any trilateral summit could be held between Putin, Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky as early as this week in Europe
- Furious Russian officials on Monday accused Britain of undermining American efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine
Mr Zelensky arrived dressed in a black jacket, shirt, and trousers as he tried to show Mr Trump respect whilst not breaking his pledge to forego a suit until the end of the war.
The European leaders were each met by a guard of honour outside the White House as protesters outside waved placards reading: 'Do not abandon Ukraine.'
Mr Trump smiled as he personally greeted Mr Zelensky, shaking his hand before putting his arm round the Ukrainian President and ushering him inside.
Sir Keir Starmer is greeted by US chief of protocol Monica Crowley at the White House on Monday
Trump greets Ukraine's President Zelensky at the White House on Monday evening
Inside the Oval Office, Mr Zelensky deftly handed Mr Trump a letter from his wife, Olena Zelenska, for the First Lady Melania Trump to thank her for raising with Putin the plight of 20,000 Ukrainian children his forces have kidnapped.
But on hammering out a peace deal, Mr Trump admitted it's 'a tough one' saying while he has ended six wars he 'thought this maybe would be the easiest one... and it's not the easiest one.'
Of the wars he has ended, he said, none had come after a ceasefire, with a complete and lasting end to hostilities being his goal.
That was challenged by both Emmanuel Macron of France and Germany's Friedrich Merz, who pushed for a pause in the fighting before any next meeting.
Mr Trump responded by saying he liked the idea of an immediate ceasefire to 'stop the killing immediately,' but that would be left to Mr Zelensky and Putin to talk about themselves.
Before sitting down he was also overheard on a hot mic telling them of Putin: 'I think he wants to make a deal for me. Do you understand? As crazy as it sounds.'
At the end of the press conference, Mr Trump revealed he was going to call the Russian dictator straight after the meeting of leaders.
'I just spoke to President Putin indirectly, and we're going to have a phone call right after these meetings today, and we may or may not have a trilat,' he said.
'If we don't have a trilat, then the fighting continues, and if we do, we have a good chance.
'I think if we have a trilat, there's a good chance of maybe ending it. But he's expecting my call when we're finished with this meeting.'
There were hopes on Monday night that a summit between the three leaders could take place as early as this week in Europe.
While Mr Trump favours Rome, Moscow reportedly prefers Geneva.
It marks a remarkable turnaround as there were growing fears of a cataclysmic breakdown of the trans-Atlantic alliance after Putin apparently succeeded in winning over Washington to his worldview in Alaska last Friday.
He appeared to get everything he wanted at the summit in Anchorage, with the Trump administration dropping its desire for an immediate ceasefire to halt the Russian advance and reportedly agreeing that Ukraine should cede all of the Donbas - a huge territory Moscow has failed to take for 12 years.
French President Emmanuel Macron is greeted by US Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley
JD Vance looks on during a meeting with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet at the Oval Office of the White House on Monday
Trump, centre, speaks with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, right, and France's President Emmanuel Macron, left
Mr Trump blasted back at his 'stupid critics' before on Monday night's gathering, writing on his Truth Social platform: 'I know exactly what I'm doing.'
Speaking on board his flight to Washington earlier in the day, Sir Keir insisted that 'we've got to get this right'.
He said: 'This war in Ukraine has been going on for a really long time now, three-plus years.
'It's hugely impacted the Ukrainians who've suffered hugely but it's also affected Europe - it's impacted every single family and community in the United Kingdom.
'And so everybody wants it to end, not least the Ukrainians, but we've got to get it right. We've got to make sure there is peace, that it is lasting peace, that it is fair and that it is just.'
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