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President Donald Trump described his White House negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders as “a very good, early step” toward ending the nearly four-year-old Russia-Ukraine war, announcing that he has already spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about arranging a direct meeting with Zelenskyy.
Trump said the group of world leaders held discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine, with commitments coming primarily from European nations “in coordination with the United States” in a statement on Truth Social after the meetings.
“Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine,” Trump said, adding that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff are now leading follow-up talks with Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskyy signaled he too was ready to meet directly with Putin.
A Kremlin readout of the Trump-Putin call confirmed the pair “discussed the idea of raising the level of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations,” but did not say whether Putin had agreed.
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President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for a family photo amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, at the White House in Washington, Aug. 18, 2025. (Alexander Drago/Reuters)
Trump outlines next steps
Trump revealed that following the Oval Office meetings he phoned Putin to begin making “arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy.” If that takes place, he said, the next stage would be a “Trilat” — a trilateral meeting involving himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy said he would be open to a meeting with Trump and Putin or a meeting with just Putin next.
“We confirmed that we are ready for a trilateral meeting,” the Ukrainian president told reporters after the meeting. “And if Russia proposed to the President of the United States bilateral, and then we will see the result of the bilateral, then it can be trilateral. So I said, always, Ukraine will never stop on the way to peace, and we are ready for any kind of format but on the level of leaders.”
President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday. (Getty Images)
While Trump has previously cast himself as a mediator rather than a dealmaker, the suggestion that Putin is open to meeting face-to-face with Zelenskyy marked the biggest breakthrough in peace negotiations yet. “Again, this was a very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years,” he said.
Security guarantees under discussion
The idea of “security guarantees” has long been central to Ukraine’s demands. According to Trump, these would be provided primarily by European states, coordinated with Washington. Ahead of the meetings, Trump had not ruled out U.S. military involvement in the guarantees, but he has since stressed that Europe will bear the primary burden of defending Ukraine.
This photograph taken on Jan. 23, 2024, shows graves most of which are of the victims killed during the Russian strike last year on a shop and cafe in Groza village, at the cemetery in Groza, Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump also reiterated his view that U.S. support should come through arms sales rather than aid packages. “We’re not giving anything. We’re selling weapons,” he said earlier this week. Ukraine has reportedly floated a proposal to buy as much as $100 billion in U.S.-made weapons with European financing, according to the Financial Times.
Land swaps may be on the table
During the meeting, Trump and Zelenskyy were pictured viewing a map outlining the front lines of the war and the Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia, about 20% of the country. Trump may have used the map to discuss with Zelenskyy which regions he could realistically part with in order to obtain peace.
After a bilateral meeting, the two leaders met with seven other European leaders. (REUTERS/Alexander Drago)
According to a source familiar with Zelenskyy’s visit planning, clarity on U.S. and European security guarantees could help the Ukrainian leader make the case domestically for any territorial concessions — a likely core element of talks with Russia. The question of which areas Ukraine could “let go” and which it must retain remains deeply sensitive in Kyiv, where public opinion has hardened after years of fighting and heavy civilian losses.
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Russia’s categorical rejection
Moscow strongly opposed the concept of NATO-style guarantees. The Russian foreign ministry released a statement during the White House talks warning that any arrangement involving NATO countries could trigger “uncontrolled escalation” with “unpredictable consequences,” according to state media outlet RIA. That categorical rejection underscores the difficulty of bridging the gap between Ukraine’s security needs and Russia’s demands.
President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) hold a meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. The two leaders are meeting for peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also joined the meeting. ( Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
European leaders weigh in
German Chancellor Merz stressed that no meaningful talks could occur without at least a temporary ceasefire.
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“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” Merz said. “So let’s work on that and put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of these efforts depends on at least a ceasefire.”
Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.
