Trump and Putin's phone call took place while the US president was meeting with Zelensky and European leaders in Washington.

Speaking to Trump on Monday,"Putin mentioned Moscow," one source told AFP, adding that Zelensky said"no" in response.

A diplomatic source close to the talks said European leaders told Trump that Putin's proposal"doesn't seem like a good idea."

After the summit at the White House on Monday, Trump announced that the next step to ending the war would be a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly expressed in recent weeks that he is ready to sit down at the negotiating table with Putin to end the war.

Putin told Trump during a phone call on Monday that he was open to the"idea" of direct talks with Ukraine, Russian official media quoted Putin aide Yuri Ushakov as saying.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that any meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine would need to be prepared very carefully.

The talks between Zelensky and Putin, the preparation of which has been announced by the White House, could take place in Hungary, a senior source in the US presidential administration told Reuters.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his opinion in an interview with broadcaster LCI that Geneva, Switzerland, could be a suitable place for such talks.

On Monday, after meeting with the Ukrainian president and European allies, Trump announced that a meeting between Zelensky and Putin was being prepared.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who participated in the talks at the White House, said that a meeting between Zelensky and Putin is planned to be held within the next two weeks.