Washington DC - President Donald Trump said he will hold a first meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia as he pushes for an end to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"We'll meet in Saudi Arabia," Trump told reporters at the White House, hours after he said the two leaders had spoken by telephone and agreed to immediately start Ukraine peace talks – an extraordinary thaw in relations that could leave Kyiv out in the cold.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also shared a phone call with Trump on Wednesday, calling it a "meaningful conversation" where they discussed ways to end the war.

"We long talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together at the team level," Zelensky said on social media, adding that he was "grateful to President Trump for his interest in what we can accomplish together."

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Zelensky noted that Trump "briefed us on his conversation with Putin".

In his evening address to the nation, Zelensky said the call was "very substantive" and that he and Trump had discussed "many nuances – diplomatic, military and economic".

"We believe America's strength is enough – together with us, together with all our partners – to push Russia and Putin to peace," he said.

But later at the White House, Trump struck a different chord as he put blame on Ukraine for Russia's invasion, telling reporters, "I think they have to make peace. That was not a good war to go into."