Doing so would require the Russian leader to “accept the failure of sitting down with a president he considers a joke from a country that doesn’t exist”

Why it matters: Putin has shown no interest in sitting down with Zelensky through 3.5 years of war. President Trump claims that's now changed, and that a presidential meeting is the key to unlocking peace.

The president says he wants Zelensky and Putin to meet alone before he joins them in a potential trilateral discussion.