Putin, will you dare to do this?

Mertz told reporters that the breakthrough occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke directly with Putin during a break at a multilateral summit in Washington, which was attended by leaders from Ukraine, the U.S., NATO, the European Commission, and several European countries.

“During the break, the U.S. president spoke on the phone with the Russian president and agreed that a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents will take place within the next two weeks,” Mertz said.

The chancellor added that Trump also intends to send a new invitation for a trilateral summit following the bilateral talks, in the hope of launching broader peace negotiations.

The venue of the upcoming meeting has not yet been decided. However, a senior U.S. official told Reuters that Hungary is being considered as one possible location for the first meeting between Putin and Zelensky since June, when failed talks in Turkey collapsed after Putin rejected a face-to-face meeting.

“We don’t know if the Russian president will dare to participate in such a summit. That’s why persuasion is still needed,” Mertz noted.

According to Mertz, Trump was “impressed” by the fact that European leaders presented a united front in Washington. He added that subsequent talks between Europe and the U.S. will now focus on concrete security guarantees for Ukraine.

“It is absolutely clear that all of Europe must be involved in this,” Mertz stressed.

At an emergency White House summit on Monday, Trump pledged that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any future peace deal, though the extent of that support remains unclear.

“When it comes to security, there will be a lot of help,” Trump told reporters, noting that European allies would take the lead while Washington would provide support.

Zelensky welcomed the development as a “big step forward,” saying that formal agreements could be signed within the next week to 10 days. He also stated that Ukraine is ready to purchase U.S. weapons worth about $90 billion.

Both Trump and Zelensky expressed hope that the upcoming bilateral meeting would eventually lead to trilateral talks, including Putin.

Earlier, after the White House meeting, Trump and Zelensky joined European leaders to continue discussions aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, securing long-term guarantees, and addressing urgent humanitarian issues.

Following the talks, Trump described the day as “very successful so far.”