Trump now says he would "prefer" not to be at a summit with Zelensky and Putin.

US President Donald Trump has stated that he would "prefer" not to attend a meeting with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, despite campaigning in recent days for a three-way summit at the leaders' level.

"Let's see if Putin and Zelensky cooperate," Trump said, adding in a statement to the media that the two "don't get along very well, for obvious reasons." "It's like oil and vinegar," he used in a supposed analogy between their differences.

The White House resident has therefore avoided assuming that the presidents of Russia and Ukraine will meet – "we'll see," he said – and regarding his potential attendance at the meeting, he admitted that he "would prefer not to be there. I would prefer they meet and see what they do," he added.

For Trump, continuing the conflict at its current pace "is very stupid," given that it is leaving thousands of victims each week. Although on this occasion he has avoided blaming the leaders of the two neighboring countries directly for the continuation of the war, as he has done on other occasions.

Trump met with Putin last Friday at an unprecedented summit in Alaska, and three days later, he hosted Zelensky in Washington for a broader meeting also attended by heads of state and government from other EU and NATO member states.