Live updates: Trump says he is working to arrange meeting between Putin and Zelensky

Russian President Vladimir Putin was not at the table with President Donald Trump, European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this afternoon, but his point of view was hardly missing.

“I’ve known him for a long time, I’ve always had a great relationship with him,” Trump said of his Russian counterpart. “I think President Putin wants to find an answer, too. We’ll see.”

Even as Trump sounded like he was speaking for Putin, few of the European leaders gathered at the White House on Monday even mentioned him by name. While the Russian leader is at the center of it all — and will largely determine Ukraine’s fate — it remains an open question whether Putin is nearly as focused on reaching a peace accord as Trump has repeatedly suggested.

Trump said he expected a trilateral meeting would soon take place between Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

“I think it’s going to be when,” Trump said, “not if.”

But the when could be a question that indicates far more than timing. It will suggest the degree to which Putin is serious about negotiating an end to the war — or simply trying to buy time, as many critics suspect.

Trump struck an optimistic tone, but allowed himself room for disappointment.

“It’s possible it might not be able to be done. On the other hand, it’s possible that it will,” Trump said, adding: “We have to give it our best. That’s all you can do.”