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President Donald Trump says he is beginning to organize a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin following Monday’s high-stakes meeting.
Trump hosted Zelenskyy and several key European leaders at the White House to discuss an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine. That meeting came after the president traveled to Alaska for a sit-down with Putin on Friday. Neither yielded an immediate ceasefire or peace agreement, but Trump portrayed Monday’s event as “very good.”
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The day came and went without specifics on how lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine will be achieved, and while Trump promised to give Ukraine “very good protection,” he did not detail what security guarantees might look like. At a news conference Monday evening, Zelenskyy said one portion of the security discussion centered around the possibility of Ukraine purchasing US weapons through Europe. In turn, Zelenskyy said the US would potentially purchase drones from Ukrainian companies.
Trump and Zelenskyy also discussed negotiations over territory — a key sticking point — and the Ukrainian president said that would be settled during the yet-to-be-confirmed face-to-face with Putin.
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Monday’s sit-down was a stark change to Zelenskyy’s last Oval Office meeting with Trump in February, which imploded and was cut short. This time, Zelenskyy arrived at the White House in attire more closely resembling a suit, and presented Trump with a letter for First Lady Melania Trump from his wife, thanking her for her focus on the children in the war.
While Trump is beginning to organize a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, there’s acknowledgment that more needs to be done to bring the war to an end.
“All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace,” Trump, who is pushing for a peace deal rather than a ceasefire first, told reporters. “And maybe something like that could happen. At this moment, it’s not happening.”
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