President Donald Trump is taking steps to facilitate a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to advance peace talks between the warring nations.
Trump hosted Zelensky and several European leaders at the White House Monday days after he and Putin met in Alaska for a high-profile summit and spoke for hours behind closed doors.
After Monday’s meeting, Trump shared an update on Truth Social about what they discussed and said he called Putin to begin arranging a meeting between him and Zelensky.
“During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America. Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine,” Trump said.
“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself.”
Trump and Zelensky were joined by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Although the meeting was positive and optimistic, few specifics came out of it and the Russian war against Ukraine continues unabated.
After the meeting, Rutte went on Fox News and praised Trump for being a “pragmatic peacemaker” and “breaking the deadlock” with Putin to start peace talks.
Rutte’s tone was similar to the one struck by Trump’s European counterparts throughout the meeting, with all of them crediting Trump for moving the ball forward on potentially ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly voiced his desire for a long-term peace in Ukraine that goes beyond a temporary cease-fire deal.
He was optimistic on Monday about the prospect of delivering peace to Ukraine and ending the bloodshed. At the meeting, Merz argued that a cease-fire would be necessary before Zelensky and Putin meet, a position that differed from Trump’s comments earlier Monday.
“I don’t think you’d need a cease-fire. If you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war, I didn’t do any cease-fires,” Trump said.
The war between Russia and Ukraine started more than three years ago when Putin’s forces invaded neighboring Ukraine. Russia now controls roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, a subject that Trump and Zelensky discussed with the aid of a map.
An adviser for Putin said the Russian leader spoke with Trump for 40 minutes following the U.S. president’s meeting with Zelensky and European counterparts. The Russian foreign ministry also released a statement rejecting the possibility of a NATO peacekeeping force staying in Ukraine to prevent a future Russian invasion, Russian state media reported.
Trump and Putin had a positive tone after their meeting last week, although they were tight-lipped about the details of what they discussed. While Zelensky was coming to Washington, D.C., to meet with Trump, Russia continued attacking Ukrainian cities and villages, killing 14 and wounding many more.
Zelensky told reporters at a news conference that the discussion about security guarantees for Ukraine included the possibility of Ukraine buying $90 billions’ worth of U.S. weapons through Europe, the New York Times reported.
He also said he was prepared for a bilateral meeting with Russia or a trilateral meeting involving the U.S. at an unspecified date.
“We discussed security guarantees. This is a key issue, a starting point towards ending the war. We appreciate the important signal from the United States regarding its readiness to support and be part of these guarantees.
“A lot of attention today was given to the return of our children, to the release of prisoners of war and civilians held by Russia,” Zelensky said in a statement shared on X summarizing the meeting.
“Today was an important step, a demonstration of genuine unity between Europe and the United States.
“The leaders personally came to support Ukraine and to discuss everything that will bring us closer to real peace, to a reliable security architecture that will protect Ukraine and all of Europe.”
Before the meeting with Trump, Zelensky met with Trump’s Ukraine envoy, General Keith Kellogg, and said they talked about the ongoing Russian attacks and the broader military situation.
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are coordinating the meeting between Putin and Zelensky, Trump said.
Vance and Trump had a heated confrontation with Zelensky at the White House earlier this year, a stunning moment that marked a low point in the relationship between the Trump administration and Zelensky’s government.
Since then, Ukraine has agreed to a long-term minerals deal with the U.S., and NATO allies have committed to reaching a 5 percent defense spending target by 2035, two major wins for Trump on the world stage.
(National Review)
