President Donald Trump will welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy back to the Oval Office on Monday for the first time since their blow-up in February. And this time, Zelenskyy will have seven European leaders alongside him determined to ensure that their security concerns aren’t overlooked as Trump tries once again to engineer an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump, following an inconclusive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska, is hoping to get Zelenskyy and the European contingent to agree to a trilateral summit as early as this week in which Zelenskyy and Putin, with Trump on hand to help facilitate, would theoretically negotiate a resolution to the conflict.
“You have to strike while the iron is hot, and the iron is hot,” said one White House official, who was granted anonymity to preview the president’s approach heading into the high-stakes day of diplomacy.
But for all of Trump’s avidity, and the outward deference of Europeans and Zelenskyy himself, Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart. Putin, who continues to speak of Ukraine as an existential threat to Russia, has floated a plan to end the war if Ukraine cedes more of the Donbas region to Russia, including territory Putin’s military doesn’t currently occupy.
Trump, who went into his Friday meeting aligned with Ukraine and Europe in pushing for a ceasefire as a prerequisite for peace talks, has quickly shifted that stance. In the days since leaving Alaska, the president has stated that he now believes a ceasefire, which Putin opposes, isn’t necessary first and that the two sides should move right into the harder negotiations to end the conflict permanently.
Trump could have an opening if Zelenskyy agreed to freeze the conflict along the current battle lines. A Ukrainian familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to discuss the private conversations, indicated that Zelenskyy would likely be willing to accept such terms, which would result in Russia acquiring some of Ukraine’s territory, but that he’ll reject Putin’s more audacious proposal to take additional Ukrainian territory Russian troops don’t currently hold.
In social media posts on Sunday, Trump again put the onus on Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war, dismissing any possibility of it getting back Crimea or eventually joining NATO, the 32-country transatlantic alliance that would effectively guarantee Ukraine’s security.
Zelenskyy, upon arriving in Washington, responded in a post on X that past security guarantees promised to Ukraine have proven ineffective, while reiterating his desire for peace.
“I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance. Russia must end this war, which it itself started,” Zelenskyy wrote.
According to a Ukrainian official familiar with the negotiations, Zelenskyy is eager to find out the details of potential security guarantees that could be included in an eventual deal.
“We will not recognize the occupation. The situation regarding compromises is broader, but we will not withdraw our troops,” said another Ukrainian official familiar with negotiations and granted anonymity to discuss them. “We will find out what details of possible security guarantees and whether Trump seriously pressured Putin into a trilateral format where everything can really be discussed.”
Trump and Putin said little following their meeting about the specifics of their discussion. According to the White House official, Putin didn’t agree to any specific security guarantees for Ukraine, but signaled that he “understands that security guarantees have to be on the table for the Ukrainians.”
Zelenskyy and Trump are scheduled to meet in the Oval Office at 1 p.m. Eastern time, the first part of which, as it was on his last visit here in February, will be open to a group of reporters and carried live on television.
A subsequent, expanded meeting will take place around 3 p.m. in the East Room with the European leaders, many of whom have worked hard to strengthen their personal relationships with Trump. That group includes British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Their presence as mediators could be significant, and makes clear just how different the dynamic with Trump is now nearly six months after the infamous Zelenskyy blowup. But for all the progress Ukraine’s embattled leader has made to repair his relationship with the president, and all the efforts by European allies to bring Trump more in line with their position on Ukraine, Trump’s comments in recent days offer a reminder that he remains, above all, eager to play dealmaker and highly susceptible to pressure from Putin.
Trump’s willingness to accept Putin’s idea that Ukraine cede more land in order to end the war, the second Ukrainian official said, reflected a misunderstanding about the battlefield dynamic, which is not as one-sided as the president seems to want to believe.
As such, the official was glum about prospects for a breakthrough on Monday: “We should expect another clusterfuck meeting in the Oval Office,” the person said.
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