On June 14, on his 80th birthday, Donald Trump received a call from Volodymyr Zelensky. The conversation lasted at least 30 minutes — and ended with an announcement of a meeting at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada.
«We discussed what could help bring peace closer now, and I informed the president about the latest developments on the battlefield and how our position has strengthened. We have some good ideas that could help bring peace closer and protect lives»
— Zelensky on Telegram after the call
The president's communications advisor Dmytro Lytvyn confirmed to Suspilne the fact of the call itself, clarifying that the parties managed to discuss «ideas regarding negotiations». Which ones exactly — he did not disclose.
What «good ideas» mean diplomatically
Zelensky's phrasing — «there are ideas» without elaboration on the content — is a typical diplomatic construction that signals the presence of a position but does not reveal it before a face-to-face meeting. No document, no joint communiqué appeared after the call.
This occurs against the backdrop of: on June 8, Zelensky had already spoken by phone with Trump's special envoys — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — whose visit to Kyiv was expected «in the near future». G7 was supposed to be the next step in this chain.
What happened in Kananaskis
The meeting did not take place. According to Kyiv Independent, Trump left the summit early on the evening of June 16 — after calling on Tehran residents to evacuate on social media. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt explained his departure by «the situation in the Middle East».
A bilateral meeting with Zelensky was scheduled for Tuesday, June 17. According to Kyiv Post, Trump left just as Zelensky was already on his way to Canada. Kyiv Independent notes: the summit ended without a joint statement supporting Ukraine, without commitments on weapons, and without a meeting between the two presidents.
Zelensky also shortened his visit — due to a night missile strike on Kyiv, he returned to the capital on June 17, without reaching Calgary, where a press conference was planned.
What remained after G7
- The «good ideas» remained without public content and without a confirmed mechanism for further discussion.
- Zelensky and Trump met later — already at the NATO summit in The Hague on June 25, where the main conversation, according to RBC-Ukraine, centered on the Israel-Iran conflict, prisoner exchanges, and the negotiation process.
- The US blocked a unified statement on Ukraine at G7 — Canada as the presiding country withdrew it from the agenda under American pressure.
The question remains open: if the «good ideas» about peace truly exist — when and in what format will they be tested, rather than simply transferred from summit to summit?
