The US President Donald Trump, on Monday, met with Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, alongside other European leaders at the White House for what turned out to be a crucial but inconclusive push to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
This is the first time the meeting has been held at the White House since Mr Zelensky’s February meeting at the Oval Office, which ended in chaos.
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Monday’s meeting focused primarily on security guarantees for Ukraine once a deal to end the war with Russia is reached. Mr Trump said he also spoke to President Vladimir Putin of Russia to begin setting up a possible direct meeting between him and his Ukrainian counterpart.
The US president also disclosed that he had “begun arrangements” for the summit, and that he would hold a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts following their two-way meeting.
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“Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.”
Bilateral and Multilateral meetings ahead
The German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, present at the meeting, also confirmed that Mr Putin agreed to the bilateral meeting.
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The leaders are yet to specify a date or location.
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky told reporters, after the meeting, that he was ready for a one-on-one with Russia and that his meeting with Mr Trump was a “very good conversation.”
But Moscow has yet to confirm that it will be engaging in a face-to-face talk with Ukraine.
For months, the Ukrainian leader has been pushing to meet with Russia, although it is unclear whether this was simply to prove that Russia was not serious about pursuing peace, as he believed.
Mr Putin, however, repeatedly turned down the idea of a Putin-Zelensky sit-down.
But at the meeting, Mr Trump said, “I think he wants to make a deal. I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand that? As crazy as that sounds.”
No concrete security guarantee
There were no strong commitments to security guarantees for Ukraine. The US President, instead, spoke in vague terms.
Mr Trump told Ukraine that the US would help ensure its security in any deal to end the war, according to the New York Times.
But he did not specify the extent of this assistance, nor did he offer boots on the ground.
When European leaders insisted on providing a security guarantee similar to NATO’s Article 5, which dictates that an attack on Ukraine would be considered an attack on all NATO countries, he responded by saying, “We will give them very good protection and very good security.”
After the meeting, when asked in the Oval Office if the United States would deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping mission, Mr Trump avoided a direct response.
Instead, he said the US would “help them out.”
Disagreement on the peace deal
During the meeting with Mr Zelensky and other European leaders, Mr Trump tried to dismiss the need for an immediate ceasefire, recommending more focus on negotiations for a full peace deal.
Compared to a full peace agreement, a ceasefire might be easier to reach and within a shorter time frame. A peace deal would require months of talks, a time during which Russia’s attacks on Ukraine would likely persist.
“I don’t know that it’s necessary,” he said, while speaking of a ceasefire.
But European leaders disagreed with him, arguing that a truce must be made.
The strongest rebuttal came from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said, “I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire.”
“So, let’s work on that and let’s try to put pressure on Russia.”
For months, Ukraine has insisted on a ceasefire. The country considers this a prerequisite for further talks with Russia on a longer-term settlement.
Ukraine to buy $90 billion of American arms.
President Zelensky expressed interest in purchasing Patriot air-defense systems from the US to help minimise the damage from Russian missile attacks.
He told reporters at the White House that as part of any security guarantees, Ukraine would buy $90 billion in American weapons through Europe.
He also said the US, on the other hand, would buy drones from Ukraine.
He said that a formal agreement still had to be arranged.
President Trump said he does not want to give further aid to Ukraine, but is open to selling weapons to help the country defend itself against Russia’s attacks.
Meanwhile, at the meeting, the Ukrainian leader made significant efforts to charm his American hosts.
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Unlike his previous visit, where Vice President JD Vance scolded him for a perceived lack of gratitude for US support for Ukraine, Mr Zelensky this time offered several words of thanks to Mr Trump.
Mr Zelensky also wore a dark suit rather than his traditional military garb, which he wore during his last visit.
He also sought to build personal ties by presenting Mr Trump with a letter from Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, addressed to US First Lady Melania Trump.
“It’s not for you. It is for your wife,” he told Mr Trump.
European leaders also praised Mr Trump ahead of their multilateral meeting, applauding his effort for bringing them to the table.
“I really want to thank you for your leadership,” NATO chief Mark Rutte said to Mr Trump.
There were no blowups in this meeting, unlike what was obtainable during the February visit by Mr Zelensky to the White House.
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