After meetings with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, US President Donald Trump has announced that he is arranging a meeting between Zelensky and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in his effort to end the devastating war that has killed hundreds of thousands, civilMedia and military personnel.
“Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine,” he said on Truth Social on Monday after their meetings.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who was at the meeting, echoed Trump, writing on X, “It is a good meeting with President Trump, President Zelensky, and our European partners today in Washington.”
“But the next steps will be more complicated,” he added.
About direct peace talks, Trump said, “I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky.”
“After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat (trilateral meeting) which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,” he added.
“Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” he said.
US Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine for the meetings, Trump added.
The meetings followed Friday’s summit with Putin after which Trump had dropped his demand for an immediate ceasefire shocking Zelensky and the Europeans.
The breakthrough in the quest for peace is Trump and the leaders agreeing to security guarantees for Ukraine.
Trump said that Putin has agreed to the security proposal.
The security guarantee is important for Ukraine because of fears that Putin can go back on a peace agreement and invade that country.
Trump was ready for US involvement in the security guarantee, which could include the deployment of US troops alongside European peacekeepers.
“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 said on Truth Social.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier that security guarantees would be “a historic step”.
Since Putin has opposed Ukraine joining NATO — one of the reasons he has claimed for starting the war in 2022 — the security guarantee would protect Ukraine because an invader would have to face NATO members deployed as peacekeepers.
Earlier on Monday, Trump had a friendly meeting with Zelensky, a marked change from their acrimonious Oval Office encounter in February when he publicly scolded him.
“We’re going to work with Ukraine, we’re going to work with everybody, and we’re going to make sure that if there’s peace, that peace is going to stay long-term,” he said before their bilateral meeting.
Zelensky said after their bilateral, “It was really good. We spoke about very sensitive points.”
“We’ve had a very successful day thus far,” he added.
Because of the February episode, the European leaders were apprehensive that Trump could browbeat Zelensky into accepting an unfavourable deal and came to Washington to back him.
Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France, Alexander Stubb of Finland, Prime Ministers Keir Starmer of Britain and Giorgia Meloni of Italy, German Chancellor Merz, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte were at the meeting.
Trump said the collection of so many powerful leaders at the White House was unprecedented.
The European leaders praised Trump effusively.
Meloni, for example, told Trump, “It is an important day — a new phase — after three years that we didn’t see any kind of sign from the Russian side that they were willing for dialogue, so something is changing — something has changed — thanks to you.”
Two important issues were left unresolved.
While European leaders wanted a ceasefire, Trump insisted on going straight to a full-fledged peace deal.
In the open part of the European summit, Merz diplomatically brought up the issue of a ceasefire, from which Trump walked back after having insisted on it before the Putin summit.
“I can’t imagine the next meeting will take place without a cease-fire,” the German Chancellor said.
French President Macron said that the European leaders are united in wanting a ceasefire.
Trump said he had gotten straight to a peace deal in the other conflicts that he said he had resolved without a ceasefire first.
“If we can get a cease-fire, great,” he said.
“President Zelensky and President Putin can talk a little bit more about that,” he added.
The urgency of a ceasefire was underlined by continuing Russian attacks just before the White House talks.
At least 10 people, including a year-old child, were killed in Monday’s attacks on Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
Also apparently unresolved was the future of the territory seized by Russia, which Ukraine wants back, and European leaders have said that Moscow should not be allowed to keep the fruits of an invasion.
On Sunday, Trump said on Truth Social, “No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!).”
Trump was referring to the Russian capture of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 without military resistance while Barack Obama was the President and implying that in a settlement Kyiv would have to give up claims to it.
Putin wants not only to keep the parts of Donetsk province, which has a large ethnic Russian minority, but also demands the rest of it.
Rubio said on a TV programme on Sunday that concessions on territory would be inevitable.
“If one side gets everything they want, that’s called surrender. And that’s not what we’re close to doing, because neither side here is on the verge of surrender, or anything close to it,” he added.
