Trump arranging Zelensky-Putin meeting after White House talks
Donald Trump says he’s planning a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after he interrupted Monday’s talks for a call with the Russian president.
Source: White House
The US President said security guarantees for Ukraine – provided by the European countries in co-ordination with the US – were discussed during the meeting at the White House.
“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social afterwards.
US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff would make the arrangements, he said. The venue is yet to be determined.
During the extraordinary summit at the White House on Monday (local time), Trump told Zelensky the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end Russia’s war, though the extent of any promised support wasn’t clear.
Trump hosted Zelensky and a group of European allies two days after the US President met Putin in Alaska and months after a disastrous Oval Office meeting where Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly criticised the Ukrainian leader.
A peace deal appears far from imminent, however. Both Trump and Zelensky said they hoped the gathering would eventually lead to trilateral talks with Putin.
Putin’s foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said Trump had held a “candid and very constructive phone call” with Putin on Monday. He said Trump informed Putin about his talks with the European leaders during the 40-minute call.
You might like
Ushakov said Putin “expressed support for direct negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine”.
Departing the White House afterwards, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was asked what had been agreed.
“Quite a lot,” he said.
European leaders – who rushed to Washington in support of Ukraine – urged Trump to insist that Putin agree to a ceasefire before any talks can advance.
Trump had previously backed that proposal. He reversed course after meeting Putin last Friday, instead adopting Moscow’s position that any peace agreement be comprehensive.
In the Oval Office, Trump said he liked the concept of a ceasefire but that the two sides could work on a peace deal while the fighting continued.
“I wish they could stop, I’d like them to stop,” he said.
“But strategically that could be a disadvantage for one side or the other.”
Stay informed, daily
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Moscow did not consider the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine a viable solution to the conflict.
Trump and Zelensky’s meeting was starkly different in tone from their previous Oval Office encounter in February, which ended when Trump and Vance publicly upbraided Zelensky for being ungrateful.
This time, the meeting appeared far more convivial and Zelensky struck a deferential tone, giving thanks at least eight times in his opening remarks.
Zelensky was backed by the leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO, who travelled to Washington to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine and push for strong security guarantees for the country in any postwar settlement.
Trump and Zelensky held broader talks with the European leaders after their one-on-one meeting.
Zelensky described the private talks with Trump as “very good” and said they had spoken about Ukraine’s need for US security guarantees.
“This is very important, that the United States gives such a strong signal and is ready for security guarantees,” Zelensky said.
Trump said he and Zelensky had covered “a lot of territory” in their discussion.
“When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help,” Trump said, adding that European countries would be involved.
“They are a first line of defence because they’re there, but we’ll help them out.”
Trump’s team has said compromises would be needed on both sides to end the conflict. But Trump has put the burden on Zelensky, saying Ukraine should give up hopes of getting back Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, or of joining the NATO military alliance.
Zelensky has already all but rejected the outline of Putin’s proposals from the Alaska meeting. Those include handing over the remaining quarter of its eastern Donetsk region, which is largely controlled by Russia. Any concession of Ukrainian territory would have to be approved by a referendum.
-with AAP
