In a marathon day of meetings at the White House on the war in Ukraine and the threat of Russia to Europe, Donald Trump met with Volodymyr Zelensky, then spoke for hours with the most important European leaders and also had a 40-minute conversation with Vladimir Putin.
PUBLICIDAD
Although there was no formal agreement, the President of the United States stated that he has started preparations for a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, as well as for a tripartite Summit in which he would participate.
PUBLICIDAD
According to CNN and Bild, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, present at the White House, said that the meeting between Zelensky and Putin could take place in the next two weeks.
Will a ceasefire be achieved in Ukraine?
The summit last Friday between Trump and Putin in Alaska, where the Republican president ended up supporting the Russian autocrat’s position to end the war in exchange for Ukraine giving up a vast territory in the east, put the main European leaders on alert. The day before the meeting in Anchorage, they had agreed in a phone call with the President of the United States and Zelensky that the most urgent thing was to achieve a ceasefire.
Therefore, in an unprecedented manner, this Monday they arrived at the White House to support Zelensky: President Emmanuel Macron, of France; President Alexander Stubb, of Finland; Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, of Italy; Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom; the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz; the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte.
First, Trump met in the Oval Office with the Ukrainian president and then he spoke for long hours with European leaders in the East Room of the White House.
According to what Trump posted on his Truth Social network, the meetings were “fruitful” and mechanisms of protection for Ukraine were discussed, which would have the support of the European countries present at the White House and the participation of the United States.
After a round of talks, and at the urging of European leaders, Trump spoke with Putin for 40 minutes from the Oval Office. “It was coordinated,” stated the President of Finland in comments to CNN.
From Moscow, Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin’s foreign policy advisor, said that the conversation between Trump and Putin was “frank and very constructive” and assured that both presidents agreed to appoint high-level negotiators for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, without mentioning a possible meeting between Putin and Zelensky.
After the conversation with the Russian president, Trump called the Ukrainian president and European leaders to the Oval Office for a new round of talks.
Although the marathon diplomatic day was more cordial than expected, some points of difference arose when Merz and Macron pressed for an immediate ceasefire as a first step to end Russia’s attacks (today 14 civilians died in Ukraine due to Russian drone bombings), instead of focusing on long peace negotiations while Russian armed forces continue their offensive.
“I am not convinced that President Putin wants peace. His goal is to achieve as much territory as possible to weaken Ukraine,” Macron said at a press conference following the meeting.
After a long day at the White House, in a press conference, President Zelensky expressed his willingness to meet directly with Putin to discuss the end of the conflict and said that Trump could join the discussions depending on the progress of the initial meeting.
What are the security guarantees for Ukraine?
European leaders also placed great emphasis on security guarantees that would be implemented in Ukraine if a peace agreement is reached, to prevent a new Russian invasion.
According to the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, in an interview with Fox News, there is still some ambiguity regarding the level of commitment from the Trump administration to these security measures. “It will be discussed in the coming days,” Rutte said.
One of the “security guarantees” could be to form a multinational force with military personnel from countries such as France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, which would be deployed in Ukraine after a potential peace agreement, as proposed a few days ago by the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
The variables also include deterring Russia through the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine without real defense capabilities and an observer force focused on monitoring military movements.
Despite these proposals, Rutte confirmed that during the meetings at the White House, the sending of troops to Ukraine was not formally addressed.
Europeans do not have a high degree of credibility in the agreements signed by Putin, and they also fear that if Ukraine gives up territory to them, as proposed by Trump, the next step may be to attack another country on the continent, such as Estonia.
Russia once again rejected the presence of NATO military forces in Ukrainian territory.