United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Aug. 18 at the White House before joining European leaders to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Zelenskyy said he raised several key points with Trump, including freeing prisoners held by Russia and securing binding safety commitments.
“We spoke about it and we will speak more about security guarantees,” Zelenskyy said, according to ABC News. “It is very important that the United States gives such [a] strong signal and is ready for security guarantees.”
Trump told reporters he planned to call Russian President Vladimir Putin after the meeting and arrange a trilateral meeting between himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy.
He added that his goal is to ensure a lasting peace between the two nations.
“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,” Trump said. “This is very long-term. We’re not talking about a 2-year peace and then we end up in this mess again.”
Trump suggested the nations may not agree to a ceasefire but said they could still negotiate a peace deal “while they’re fighting.”
Meanwhile, polling shows Ukrainians are increasingly ready for an end to the war through negotiations.
A Gallup poll conducted in early July found 69% of Ukrainians want a negotiated settlement “as soon as possible,” while 24% support fighting until victory. CNN data analyst Harry Enten noted the numbers were nearly reversed in 2022 when 73% backed fighting until Ukraine won and 22% favored negotiations.
Later in the day, Trump convened a multilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Security guarantees dominated the leaders’ opening remarks.
Macron said such guarantees extend to “the whole security of the European continent,” ABC News reported. Starmer added he believes “with the right approach” they can make “real progress” on guarantees.
Trump echoed the push for progress: “All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace.”
He added that a final peace deal is “very attainable” in the “near future.”
Midway through the multilateral session, Trump interrupted the talks to place a call to Putin, according to Reuters. In a Truth Social post afterward, Trump said he spoke with Putin and “began the arrangements for a meeting” between Putin and Zelenskyy. He added that once that meeting takes place, the three leaders will hold a trilateral session.
The White House meetings followed Trump’s Aug. 15 summit with Putin in Alaska, where both leaders spoke positively but did not reach a ceasefire agreement, CatholicVote reported. Putin insisted Russia was “sincerely interested in putting an end” to the war.
This is a developing story.
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Author: Elise Winland
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