Trump holds 'very productive' call with Putin ahead of Zelenskyy meeting

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he held a "productive" phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

He added the meeting at 1800GMT will be open to press but did not provide any more details about the call.

Trump is set to host Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, to discuss the US plan to end the nearly four-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Zelenskyy arrived in the US on Saturday following a visit to neighbouring Canada.

New Ukraine peace deal

Zelenskyy will push a new peace plan for Ukraine when he sits down with Trump, bolstered by the backing of European leaders but with his capital Kiev still reeling from a massive Russian bombardment.

The US president has been non-committal on the revised 20-point proposal for ending the nearly four-year conflict, while Russian leader Vladimir Putin has offered no indication that Moscow would find it acceptable.

Trump has made ending the Ukraine war a centrepiece of his second term as a self-proclaimed "president of peace," and he has repeatedly blamed both Kiev and Moscow for the failure to secure a ceasefire.

Sunday's meeting, to be hosted by Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence at 1:00 pm (1800 GMT), will be their first in-person encounter since October, when the US president refused to grant Zelensky's request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.

And the Ukrainian leader could face another hard sell this time around, with Trump insisting that he "doesn't have anything until I approve it."