Zelensky Trump White House meeting: Ukrainian President and European leaders press for security guarantees

US President Donald Trump paused his meeting in the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on Monday to make a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests,” Mr Trump said on Truth Social.

“During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America.

“Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.

“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 Zelenskyy.

“After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.”

The European officials present at the meeting were not part of the call. A European official confirmed that Mr Trump interrupted the talks to speak directly with Mr Putin, with discussions resuming after.

It comes as Mr Zelensky of Ukraine met with Mr Trump and an extraordinary delegation of European leaders at the White House on Monday, seeking to defend his nation’s interests as Trump presses for a quick peace agreement with Russia that would require Ukraine to make sweeping concessions.

Wearing a black suit instead of his usual military clothing, and backed by European presidents and prime ministers who had rushed to Washington to support him, Mr Zelensky was greeted warmly by Mr Trump.

Inside the Oval Office, the two presidents showed few signs of their once-frayed relationship, talked positively about the United States’ playing a role in security guarantees for Ukraine, and expressed their eagerness to arrange a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace... President Zelensky and President Putin can talk a little bit more about that... But I believe a peace agreement at the end of all of this is something that’s very attainable,” Mr Trump said at The White House.

But details of any progress toward peace were scarce. And Mr Zelensky, now 3 1/2 years into a war instigated by Russia, is expected to soon confront a difficult choice: surrender territory in exchange for vague promises for Ukraine’s future security, or hold his ground and risk reigniting Mr Trump’s anger.

During the portion of a meeting with European leaders and Mr Zelensky that was open to reporters, Mr Trump listened as Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France pressed for a ceasefire, something Mr Trump had said Friday he wanted and then abandoned as a condition after his meeting with Putin.

The initial interactions were a striking departure from the combative tone of Mr Zelensky’s previous visit to the White House in February, when Mr Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated him in the Oval Office on live television. Mr Vance said nothing this time, and both presidents were genial. Mr Zelensky absorbed jokes about his black suit and handed Mr Trump a letter his wife had written to first lady Melania Trump.

On Monday, Mr Trump, a sceptic of multilateral alliances and deeply desiring of a Nobel Peace Prize, was not specific about what security guarantees for Ukraine would look like, although he said the US would help in some way, and he did not rule out involving US troops.

He said he believed he could secure a joint meeting with Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskyy “if everything works out well today” and that there was a “reasonable chance in ending the war” through such a meeting.

Mr Trump told reporters, with Mr Zelensky sitting beside him, that he had communicated indirectly with Mr Putin earlier Monday and would speak with him later in the day.

Mr Trump also continued to push back on criticism that he had given Mr Putin a major diplomatic victory by hosting him for a summit Friday in Alaska, asserting that it was difficult for Putin to have come to the United States. In reality, it was the first time Mr Putin had been warmly embraced in the West since the war made him an international pariah.

Mr Zelensky said he is ready for a trilateral meeting, though he has steadfastly rejected ceding any land to Russia. But as Mr Trump has aligned more closely with Russia after his warm meeting with Mr Putin, Mr Zelensky now faces increased pressure to convince the United States that Ukraine should get a better deal.

Mr Trump has swung between saying in their last Oval Office meeting that Mr Zelensky does not hold “the cards” in the war, to more recently expressing public frustration that Mr Putin was stringing him along and agreeing to sell more arms to European nations that would be earmarked for Ukraine. Asked at the outset of their Monday meeting which side held more cards now, Mr Trump said he didn’t want to discuss that and repeated his oft-stated desire for the war to end.

In a sign of the alarm among allies after Friday’s Trump-Putin summit meeting, a posse of European leaders — including Keir Starmer of Britain; Macron; and two leaders whom Mr Trump generally likes, Giorgia Meloni of Italy and Alexander Stubb of Finland — rushed to Washington in an effort to show solidarity with Ukraine and “to defend the interests of the Europeans,” according to Macron.

Several top European officials have warned that if Mt Putin, who has a history of breaking diplomatic commitments, is not stopped in Ukraine, he could try to take more European territory by force.

Mr Zelensky on Sunday labelled talk of US security guarantees “a significant change” in the US position. But he doesn’t have the authority to make the most important concession that Mr Putin appears to be demanding: giving up all of the eastern Donbas region, including territory that Ukraine still controls, to Russia. Ukraine’s constitution requires a referendum to cede territory, and the vast majority of Ukrainians oppose doing so.

Here’s what else to know:

— Suiting up: During his famously acrimonious meeting with Mr Trump in March, Mr Zelensky’s military-style attire became a talking point. On Monday, perhaps wary of a repeat, the Ukrainian president adopted a more statesmanlike ensemble: black field jacket, black shirt and black slacks. Mr Trump took note.

— Deadly strikes: Hours before the meetings in Washington, Russian attacks in the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia killed at least 10 people, including a child, and injured dozens of others, Ukrainian authorities said. Mr Zelensky condemned the strikes as a deliberate attempt to put pressure on Ukraine amid the talks.

— Putin’s plan: Before meeting with Mr Putin on Friday in Alaska, Mr Trump had said that there would be “severe consequences” if the Russian leader did not agree to a ceasefire. But since the meeting, Mr Trump has backed Mr Putin’s plan for skipping ceasefire discussions and proceeding to a sweeping peace agreement based on Ukraine ceding land to Russia, which now occupies almost 20 per cent of Ukraine.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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