Trump said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could meet"very soon" to discuss ending the war between the two neighbors.

"We haven't decided where yet, but we had a very good conversation with President Putin today... That road has been long and continues to be long, but there is a high probability that a meeting will take place very soon," the US president said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump briefed European partners, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, about a meeting between Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff in the Kremlin.

German government sources told the dpa news agency that during the conversation, Trump expressed his intention to meet Putin in person soon.

Meanwhile, The New York Times, citing two people familiar with the plan, reported that Trump intends to meet in person with Putin as early as next week, and that a trilateral meeting with Zelensky will follow shortly thereafter.

US broadcaster CNN, citing a source in the government of a European country, reported that Trump said he"intends to meet with Putin and Zelensky as early as next week."

Putin and Witkoff met for about three hours at the Kremlin on Wednesday, days before Trump's deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Moscow called the talks"useful and constructive," Russian state news agency TASS reported.

"Everyone agrees that this war must end, and we will work to achieve that in the coming days and weeks," he added.