WASHINGTON, August 18. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has admitted that he has underestimated the complexity of resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

"I've done six wars, I've ended six wars, and I thought this maybe would be the easiest one. And it's not the easiest one. It's a tough one," Trump said opening a meeting at the White House with the participation of European leaders and Vladimir Zelensky.

Last year, he repeatedly claimed that he would be able to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours after taking office as head of state if he won the elections.

However, after the inauguration, he abandoned such promises. In March, the American leader said he was being sarcastic when talking about such short deadlines.

Besides Zelensky, Trump is meeting the presidents of Finland and France, Alexander Stubb and Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

This is the first time so many leaders are present together at the White House at the same time. This unprecedented composition of the participants, which underscores the importance of the issue under discussion, was noted by Trump in his opening remarks.

According to the American president, if the negotiations are successful, he will have a new meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. According to sources on the Axios portal, Trump expects to hold a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky on August 22.