“President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President [Vladimir] Putin,” Trump said. The meeting was confirmed by Zelenskyy shortly after.
Putin said at a joint press conference with Trump following the three hours of direct talks between the leaders: “I expect that today’s agreement will be the starting point not only for the solution of the Ukrainian issue, but also will help us bring back business-like and pragmatic relations between Russia and the U.S.”
The two leaders did not take questions and shared few details of any possible deal to end the three-and-a-half-year conflict.
Trump has displayed optimism regarding the outcome of the meeting.
“A great and very successful day in Alaska! The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO,” he said in his latest post.
“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”
The current full-scale conflict erupted when Russian forces entered Ukrainian territory on Feb. 24, 2022.
Zelenskyy’s Response, Europe’s Stance
Zelenskyy said he had a “long and substantive” conversation with Trump.“We started with one-on-one talks before inviting European leaders to join us. This call lasted for more than an hour and a half, including about an hour of our bilateral conversation with President Trump,” he wrote on X.
“Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace. President Trump informed about his meeting with the Russian leader and the main points of their discussion. It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation.”
The Ukrainian president stressed the roles of European leaders in the peace efforts.
“It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America,” Zelenskyy said, adding that he was hopeful for America’s participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen thanked Trump for his engagement efforts.
“We are clear that Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We welcome President Trump’s statement that the US is prepared to give security guarantees,” according to the joint statement by von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and EU Council President António Costa.
It said that no limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces, and that Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to join the EU and NATO.
While ensuring support for Ukraine, the European leaders said they “stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia.”
“We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace.”
He asked Russia to cease attacks on the country’s infrastructure.
“All Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians must be released, and the children abducted by Russia must be returned. Thousands of our people remain in captivity—they all must be brought home. Pressure on Russia must be maintained while the aggression and occupation continue,” he wrote.
