Donald Trump has said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin following his recent meetings with European leaders

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin following last week’s meetings in Washington with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and several European heads of state.

Trump was last publicly known to have spoken with Putin on August 18, when he briefly interrupted his White House discussions with Zelensky and the Europeans to place a call to the Russian leader.

When asked by reporters if he had since spoken to Putin, Trump confirmed: “Yes, I have.” On how the latest talks went, he added: “Every conversation I have with him is a good conversation. And then, unfortunately, a bomb is loaded up into Kyiv or someplace, and I get very angry about it.”

Trump and Putin had also held a landmark summit in Alaska on August 15 aimed at striking a deal to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After their August 18 call, Trump said Putin had agreed to a bilateral meeting with Zelensky, though Moscow later denied such plans.

Asked why Putin seemed unwilling to meet Zelensky directly, Trump remarked: “Because he doesn’t like him.” Still, he expressed confidence that peace was possible, saying: “I think we’re going to get the war done.”

Following Trump’s meetings with Zelensky and European leaders, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke jointly on Monday with Ukraine’s foreign minister and his counterparts from Britain, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the European Union. The State Department said the ministers committed to continue coordinated diplomatic efforts toward a lasting negotiated settlement to the war.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani reiterated the call for robust security guarantees for Ukraine, modeled on NATO’s principle of collective defense. He emphasized the need to strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces and defense industry, and said Italy was ready to contribute to land and sea demining operations.

Trump, however, while offering Zelensky vague assurances of progress on security guarantees, has consistently opposed Ukraine’s NATO membership in line with Moscow’s position.