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President Donald Trump described his White House conversation with Ukrainian President Volodimier Zelanski and European leaders as “a very good, initial step”, which is in the direction of ending the Russia-Ukraine war nearly four years old, Russia-Ukrain, announcing that he has already talked about arranging a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump said that a group of world leaders discussed the security guarantee for Ukraine, with a statement on the truth social after the meetings mainly with the commitments coming from European countries to “coordination” from European countries.
“Everyone is very happy about the possibility of peace for Russia/Ukraine,” said Trump, “Vice President JD Vance, State Secretary Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witcoff are now having a follow -up interaction with Moscow and Kiev.
Zelansky indicated that he too was ready to meet with Putin.
A craftin readout of Trump-Putin Call confirmed the pair “discussed the idea of increasing the level of direct Russian-Ukrainian dialogue,” but did not say if Putin had agreed.
Flashback: What happened last time Zelensky met with Trump at the Oval Office
President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodimier Zelanski, German Chancellor Frederick Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Kir Stmper, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, Finland President Alexander Stab, NATO’s General Secretary Mark Rute and European Commission President Urusula Deraman Poge. In Washington, August 18, 2025. (Alexander Drago/Reuters)
Trump underlines the next steps
Trump revealed that after the Oval Office meetings, he began to “arrange a meeting to Putin, at one place, at the place to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelanski.” If this happens, he said, the next phase would be a “trunt” – a tripartite meeting that includes itself, Putin and Zelanski.
Zelansky said he would be open for a meeting with Trump and Putin or there would be a meeting with the next Putin.
The Ukrainian President told reporters after the meeting, “We confirmed that we are ready for a tripartite meeting.” “And if Russia proposes to the Bilateral President of the United States, and then we would see the result of bilateral, it can be trilateral. So I said, always, Ukraine will never stop on the path of peace, and we are ready for any format but at the level of leaders.”
President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodimier Zelanski at the White House on Monday. (Getty image)
While Trump has previously cast himself as a mediator instead of a delimaker, suggesting that Putin is open to meet face-to-face with Zelancesi, marked the biggest success in peace talks. “Then, this was a very good, the initial step for a war that has been going on for almost four years,” he said.
Security guarantee under discussion
The idea of “safety guarantee” has long been central for Ukraine’s demands. According to Trump, these will be mainly provided by the European states, coordinated with Washington. Next to the meetings, Trump did not deny the US military partnership in the guarantee, but has since insisted that Europe will bear the primary burden of defending Ukraine.
The picture taken on 23 January 2024 shows Graves, most of which belong to the victims killed during the Russian strike last year, who are in a shop and café in Grja village, in the cemetery in the Kharkiv area, in the middle of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the cemetery. (Through Roman Pilipa/AFP Getty Image)
Trump also reiterated that US support assistance should come through arms sale instead of packages. “We are not giving anything. We are selling weapons,” he said earlier this week. According to The Financial Times, Ukraine has allegedly proposed to buy $ 100 billion in US-made weapons with European financing.
The land can be on the swap table
During the meeting, Trump and Zelancesi were depicted to see a map underlining the advance rows of war and currently occupied by Russia -occupied Ukrainian region, about 20%of the country. Trump may have used maps to discuss with Zelanceci in which areas he can actually participate to achieve peace.
After a bilateral meeting, the two leaders met with seven other European leaders. (Reuters/Alexander Drago)
According to a source familiar with Zelanceci’s travel plan, clarity on the US and European security guarantee can help the Ukrainian leader to make a domestic case for any regional concessions – a potential main element of interaction with Russia. In which areas Ukraine can “let go” and maintain it is deeply sensitive to the kiv, where the public opinion has become rigid after the fight and the heavy citizen loss years.
Russian Drone Strike 7 Kl 7 Khar 7 Khar 7 Khal 7 Kharciv during the White House meeting with Trump
Russia’s classified rejection
Moscow strongly opposed the concept of guarantee of NATO-style. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement during the White House talks, which warned that any arrangement related to NATO countries can trigger “uncontrolled growth” with “unexpected results” according to the state media outlet RIA. This clear rejection underlines Ukraine’s security needs and the difficulty of reducing the difference between Russia’s demands.
President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) held a meeting at the Joint Aadhaar Eleemandorf-Richardson on 15 August 2025 at Ankrej, Alaska. The two leaders are meeting for peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Russian External Affairs Minister Sergei Lavarov (L) and US State Secretary Marco Rubio also attended the meeting. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
European leaders weigh
German Chancellor Marz insisted that there could be no meaningful talks without at least temporary ceasefire.
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“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would be without a ceasefire,” Mars said. “So let’s work on it and pressurize Russia, as the reliability of these efforts depends at least one ceasefire.”
Fox News’ Jackie Heinrich contributed to this report.
