A potential later meeting between the presidents of Ukraine, Russia and the US will be “more important”, Trump adds.

The Elysee Palace described the dialogue between the two leaders as "close and constant," but did not provide a specific date or location for the follow-up meeting.

As President Trump touched down in Anchorage on Friday to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia over the war in Ukraine, that country’s leader, President Volodymyr Zelensky, criticized continuing Russian strikes as a sign that Moscow was not prepared to end the conflict.