Trump promises Zelenskiy that he will stop the war in 30 days. What comes after the “very positive” conversation

US President Donald Trump has told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, that he wants the war in Ukraine to end “within a month at most,” according to a report by Axios, citing a Ukrainian official and two other sources familiar with the discussion. It remains unclear whether Moscow shares the same ambitious timetable – and, in particular, whether the Kremlin leader has been informed of this intention.

Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump/PHOTO: EPA/EFE

The phone call, which lasted about 30 minutes, was the first between the two leaders since their meeting in Davos in late January. The talk came a day after marking four years since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a day before a scheduled meeting in Geneva between Trump's special envoys and Kiev's negotiating team.

According to the cited sources, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, appointed by Trump to manage the negotiations file, also participated in the call. At the same time, another source indicated that the Russian representative Kiril Dmitriev, in turn, could be in Geneva for separate talks with the American side.

All three sources described the dialogue as “very friendly” and “positive”. A Ukrainian official said Zelensky thanked the US president for his support so far and stressed that only Trump could put the necessary pressure on Vladimir Putin to stop the war.

“Zelensky expressed hope that the war would end later this year. Trump countered that hostilities have already lasted too long and that he would like them to end within a month“, one of the sources told Axios.

Another topic addressed during the conversation was the possibility of organizing a high-level trilateral summit. Last week, Zelenski told Axios that differences over the territories could be overcome through direct negotiations between him, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump reportedly told the Ukrainian leader that he would try to prepare such a summit, provided that the next round of talks between representatives of the United States, Russia and Ukraine – scheduled for early March – shows concrete progress.

“We expect this meeting to pave the way for the lifting of negotiations at the leader level. President Trump supports this sequence of steps. It is the only way to resolve all the complex and sensitive issues and bring the war to an end”, Zelensky wrote on the X platform.

In addition, according to the quoted Ukrainian official, Trump would have confirmed the readiness of the United States to offer Ukraine consistent security guarantees, within the framework of a possible peace agreement with Russia.

“Does it make sense?”: Peskov commented on the possibility of a meeting between Zelensky and Putin

The spokesman of the Russian dictator, Dmitry Peskov, said that after the statements of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, it is worth considering whether his possible meeting with the leader of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, makes sense, Russian media reported.

“As for a possible meeting between Putin and Zelensky, for now it is worth simply remembering his last statements: what Ukraine will not accept, what it will not do and what it intends to do next. They do not even need to be analyzed, it is enough to remember and ask – it makes sense to hold a meeting at the highest level if Kiev continues to adhere to this position”said Peskov.

Despite Russia's constant bombing of Ukrainian cities, US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said he expects positive news in the peace process between Ukraine and Russia in the near future. He expressed hope that his and Jared Kushner's proposals would help bring the sides closer in the next three weeks and eventually lead to a summit between Zelenskiy and Putin. According to him, there could even be a trilateral meeting with the participation of US President Donald Trump.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaia Kallas, does not share the special envoy's optimism about the possibility of a meeting between the Ukrainian president and the Russian dictator in the coming weeks. She emphasized that the Russian side is not a serious partner in negotiations and is not ready to discuss political issues.