By Andrea Shalal and Max Hunder
WASHINGTON -U.S. President Donald Trump told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end Russia’s war there, though the extent of any assistance was not immediately clear.
Trump made the pledge during an extraordinary summit at the White House, where he hosted Zelenskiy and a group of European allies days after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and months after a disastrous Oval Office meeting that saw Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly criticize the Ukrainian leader.
A peace deal appeared far from imminent, however. Just before the talks began, Russia’s Foreign Ministry ruled out the deployment of troops from NATO countries to help secure a peace deal, adding complications to Trump’s offer.
Both Trump and Zelenskiy said they hoped Monday’s gathering would eventually lead to three-way talks with Putin. The Kremlin has not yet publicly accepted such a meeting, and it remains to be seen whether Putin, whose forces have been slowly grinding forward in eastern Ukraine, is prepared to sit down with Zelenskiy or make meaningful concessions.
In a social media post late on Monday, Trump said he had called Putin and begun arranging a meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy, to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents. A source from the European delegation said Trump had told European leaders that Putin suggested he meet with Zelenskiy directly first.
The last direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Turkey in June. Putin declined Zelenskiy’s public invitation to meet him face-to-face there and sent a low-level delegation instead.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in audio remarks on Telegram on Monday that Trump and Putin had discussed “the possibility of raising the level of representatives from the Ukrainian and Russian sides — that is, those representatives participating in the mentioned direct negotiations.”
Meanwhile, European leaders – who rushed to Washington in support of Ukraine – urged Trump to insist that Putin agree to a ceasefire in the 3-1/2-year-old war before any talks can advance. Trump previously backed that proposal but reversed course after meeting with Putin on Friday, instead adopting Moscow’s position that any peace agreement be comprehensive.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he liked the concept of a ceasefire but 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.”
Later in the day, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron both voiced support for a ceasefire as a prerequisite to any direct talks with Russia.
“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” said Merz, seated with Trump and other leaders. “So let’s work on that and let’s try to put pressure on Russia.”
Macron also said European leaders would eventually need to be included in any peace talks.
“When we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent,” he told Trump.
Trump and Zelenskiy spoke in private before joining the rest of the European leaders for more than two hours of multilateral talks.
FRIENDLY TONE AFTER FEBRUARY DISASTER
Trump and Zelenskiy’s meeting was starkly different in tone from their Oval Office encounter in February, which ended abruptly when Trump and Vance publicly upbraided Zelenskiy as not being grateful enough.
This time, the meeting appeared far more convivial, despite the U.S. president’s movement toward Russia in recent days. Zelenskiy struck a deferential tone, giving thanks at least eight times during his opening remarks to the media.
Zelenskiy was also backed by the leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO, who traveled to Washington to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine and push for strong security guarantees for the country in any post-war settlement.
Trump greeted Zelenskiy warmly upon his arrival outside the White House, expressing admiration for Zelenskiy’s black suit, a departure from his typical military clothes.
When a reporter asked Trump what his message was to the people of Ukraine, he said, “We love them.” Zelenskiy thanked him, and Trump put his hand on Zelenskiy’s back in a show of affection before the two men went inside to the Oval Office.
Zelenskiy described his direct talks with Trump as “very good” and said they had spoken about Ukraine’s need for U.S. security guarantees.
“This is very important, that the United States gives such a strong signal and is ready for security guarantees,” Zelenskiy said.
Trump said European countries would be “a first line of defence because they’re there, but we’ll help them out.”
TRUMP UPS PRESSURE
Trump has pressed for a quick end to Europe’s deadliest war in 80 years, and Kyiv and its allies worry he could seek to force an agreement on Russia’s terms after the president on Friday rolled out the red carpet – literally – for Putin, who faces war crimes charges from the International Criminal Court.
Officials in Ukraine said Russian attacks overnight on Ukrainian cities killed at least 10 people, including a toddler, in what Zelenskiy called a “cynical” effort to undermine talks.
Trump has rejected claims that the Alaska summit was a win for Putin, who has faced diplomatic isolation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“I know exactly what I’m doing, and I don’t need the advice of people who have been working on all of these conflicts for years, and were never able to do a thing to stop them,” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump’s team has said both sides must compromise. But the president has put the burden on Zelenskiy, saying Ukraine should give up hopes of regaining Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, or of joining the NATO military alliance.
Zelenskiy 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.
The war has killed or wounded more than a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts, and destroyed wide swaths of the country.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
