President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, on Monday, returned to the White House to hold what have been described as Trump-Zelensky talks over the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
The Trump-Zelensky talks also brought together several European leaders to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Following the conclusion of the meeting, it was gathered that no concrete agreements had emerged.
However, the discussions yielded some insights into the path forward on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Here are key takeaways from this high-stakes summit;
1. Possible Putin-Zelensky meeting
Shortly after the summit, Trump took to his official Truth Social account, revealing that he had called Putin to begin arranging talks with Zelensky.
According to Trump, after a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky, there would be a trilateral meeting where he would join them.
He said: “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.”
However, the details of how Putin and Zelensky will be at the negotiating table for the first time since the war began remain sketchy as of press time.
This comes as Putin has repeatedly turned down the idea of a sit-down meeting with Zelensky.
2. European leaders stand with Ukraine as Trump backs away from ceasefire
It was also gathered that during the meeting, Trump reportedly dismissed the need for a ceasefire before negotiations to end the war could take place.
Ukraine and European leaders have been calling for a ceasefire as part of the demand to end the ongoing war.
“I don’t know that it’s necessary,” Trump was quoted as saying of a ceasefire.
But the European leaders appeared to push back, with the strongest rebuttal coming from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” Merz said. “So, let’s work on that and let’s try to put pressure on Russia.”
3. Trump announces groundwork for Ukraine’s security guarantees
Also, during the meeting, Trump reportedly told Zelensky the U.S. would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end the war.
Although Trump did not specify the extent of any assistance, he said Europe was the “first line of defence”, but that “we’ll be involved”.
“We’ll give them good protection.”
He added that during last week’s Alaska summit, Putin had accepted that there would be security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any peace deal.
Giving more information, Zelensky revealed that part of the security guarantee would involve a $90bn (£67bn) arms deal between the U.S. and Ukraine.
He said this would include “U.S. weapons that Ukraine does not have, including aviation systems, anti-missile systems, and other things I will not disclose.”
