Trump, meeting Zelenskyy at the White House, says a tri-lateral meeting with Putin is in the works
On Monday, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the prospect of holding trilateral negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to put an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Several European politicians, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, accompanied Zelenskyy at the White House. The leaders expressed their desire to establish direct talks with Russia and to agree on security assurances for Ukraine.
Shortly after welcoming Zelenskyy, Trump declared, “We’re going to have a lasting peace.” I’m hoping it will happen right away. I hope the battle doesn’t need to continue. And I believe that when that is announced, people everywhere will be extremely thrilled.
Trump hinted about the possibility of a trilateral meeting with Putin.
Perhaps as soon as possible, we will attempt to arrange a three-party meeting. And I believe that President Putin and [Zelenskyy] will come to an agreement,” Trump remarked. “In the end, only President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people, working together and in cooperation with President Putin, can make this decision.
He went on to say that Putin had stated during their most recent summit in Alaska that Russia would agree to security assurances for Ukraine, which was a major topic of the White House negotiations.
According to Trump, the conference in Alaska strengthened my conviction that, despite its challenges, peace is achievable. One of the most important things we need to think about is President Putin’s agreement, which I think was a very important step, that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also underlined the significance of humanitarian efforts and security assurances.
We’ll talk more about assurances of security. According to him, it is crucial that the US sends a clear message and is prepared to provide security assurances. All of the detainees should be exchanged, which is the second—or even the first—humanitarian direction. President Trump will attempt to set up a trilateral summit where we will discuss all the difficult issues, territorial issues, etc., at the level of leaders.
President Trump reaffirmed the emphasis on increased security measures for Ukraine in a social media post after the meeting.
“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,” he stated.
Additionally, President Trump said that plans will move forward with a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, followed by a trilateral gathering of the three leaders.
“I called President Putin once the discussions were over and started making plans for him and President Zelenskyy to meet at a venue to be decided. There will be a Trilat following that meeting, which would include me and the two presidents.
To coordinate their stances, Zelenskyy had a secret meeting with the European leaders earlier in the day. According to his office, the main goal of the discussions was for the US and Europe to work together to develop the future security framework for Ukraine and, by extension, for the whole European continent.
Trump suggested that the United States might think about sending soldiers as part of such guarantees and proposed a NATO-style agreement to give Ukraine Article 5-style safeguards. In the continuing negotiations, the majority of the details are anticipated to be addressed.
The high-profile event came after Trump and Putin’s summit last week, which ended suddenly without a peace agreement or media questions.
