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The Hindu
36 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Zelenskyy, Trump express hope for trilateral talks with Putin to bring end to Russia-Ukraine war
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump expressed hope that Monday's (August 18, 2025) critical talks with Ukrainian and European leaders at the White House could lead to trilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring an end to Russia's war on Ukraine. The U.S. President also said he would back European security guarantees for Ukraine. Mr. Trump stopped short of committing U.S. troops to the effort, saying instead that there would be a 'NATO-like' security presence but that all those details would be hashed out in their afternoon meeting with EU leaders. Follow Trump-Zelenskyy meeting in Washington LIVE updates here 'They want to give protection and they feel very strongly about it and we'll help them out with that,' Mr. Trump said. 'I think its very important to get the deal done.' Monday's hastily assembled meeting comes after Mr. Trump met on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has said that the onus is now on Mr. Zelenskyy to agree to concessions that he said could end the war. 'If everything works out today, we'll have a trilat," Mr. Trump said, referring to possible three-way talks among Mr. Zelenskyy, Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump. "We're going to work with Russia, we're going to work with Ukraine.' Mr. Trump also said he plans to talk to Putin after his meetings with Mr. Zelenskyy and European leaders. Mr. Zelenskyy also expressed openness to trilateral talks. 'We are ready for trilateral as president said,' Mr. Zelenskyy said at the start of his meeting with Mr. Trump. "It's a good signal about trilateral. I think this is very good.' Mr. Trump is first holding one-on-one talks with Mr. Zelenskyy. The two are then scheduled to gather with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. The European leaders were left out of Mr. Trump's summit with Mr. Putin. They want to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. Many arrived at the White House with the explicit goal of protecting Ukraine's interests — a rare show of diplomatic force. By coming as a group, they hope to avoid debacles like Mr. Zelenskyy's February meeting in the Oval Office, where Mr. Trump chastised him for not showing enough gratitude for U.S. military aid. Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelenskyy were due to meet in the Oval Office before European leaders join them in the East Room for talks. The meetings are also a test of America's relationship with its closest allies after the European Union and United Kingdom accepted Mr. Trump's tariff hikes partly because they wanted his support on Ukraine. 'We understand that we shouldn't expect Putin to voluntarily abandon aggression and new attempts at conquest,' Mr. Zelenskyy said in an X posting before arriving at the White House. 'That is why pressure must work, and it must be joint pressure – from the United States and Europe, and from everyone in the world who respects the right to life and the international order.' Ahead of the meeting, however, Mr. Trump suggested that Ukraine could not regain Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, setting off an armed conflict that led to its broader 2022 invasion. "President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight," Mr. Trump wrote on Sunday night on social media. 'Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!' Mr. Zelenskyy appeared to respond with his own post late Sunday, saying, 'We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.' He said that 'peace must be lasting,' not as it was after Russia seized Crimea and part of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine eight years ago, and 'Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.' Mr. Trump's sitdown in Alaska with Putin yielded the possible contours for stopping the war in Ukraine, though it was unclear whether the terms discussed would ultimately be acceptable to Mr. Zelenskyy or Mr. Putin. Mr. Zelenskyy said in a social media post he met with Mr. Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, on Monday ahead of his scheduled talks with Mr. Trump to discuss the battlefield situation and the shared 'strong diplomatic capabilities' of the U.S., Ukraine and Europe. He also held talks with European leaders at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington. European heavyweights in Washington European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte arrived at the White House ahead of Mr. Zelenskyy's arrival. On the table for discussion are possible NATO-like security guarantees that Ukraine would need for any peace with Russia to be durable. Putin opposes Ukraine joining NATO outright, yet Mr. Trump's team claims the Russian leader is open to allies agreeing to defend Ukraine if it comes under attack. 'Clearly there are no easy solutions when talking about ending a war and building peace,' Ms. Meloni told reporters. 'We have to explore all possible solutions to guarantee peace, to guarantee justice, and to guarantee security for our countries.' The European leaders are aiming to keep the focus during the White House talks on finding a sustainable peace and believe forging a temporary ceasefire is not off the table, according to a European official. The official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the leaders are also looking to keep pressure on Russia to end the fighting and want to get more concrete assurances from the U.S. about security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any deal. Mr. Trump briefed Mr. Zelenskyy and European allies shortly after the Putin meeting. Details from the discussions emerged in a scattershot way that seemed to rankle the U.S. President, who had chosen not to outline any terms when appearing afterward with Mr. Putin. Ahead of Monday's White House meetings, Mr. Trump took to social media to say that even if Russia said, 'We give up, we concede, we surrender" the news media and Democrats 'would say that this was a bad and humiliating day for Donald J. Trump.' He separately lashed out at the Wall Street Journal and other outlets 'who truly don't have a clue, tell me everything that I am doing wrong on the Russia/Ukraine MESS.' Following the Alaska summit, Mr. Trump declared that a ceasefire was not necessary for peace talks to proceed, a sudden shift to a position favoured by Mr. Putin. 'A very big move' European officials confirmed that Mr. Trump told them Mr. Putin is still seeking control of the entire Donbas region, even though Ukraine controls a meaningful share of it. Mr. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said the U.S. and its allies could offer Ukraine a NATO-like commitment to defend the country if it came under attack as the possible security guarantee, with details to be worked out. Monday's meeting will likely be very tough for Mr. Zelenskyy, an official close to the ongoing talks said. That official spoke on condition of anonymity to speak openly about thinking within Ukraine and between allies. Mr. Zelenskyy needs to prevent a scenario in which he gets blamed for blocking peace talks by rejecting Mr. Putin's maximalist demand on the Donbas, the official said. It is a demand Mr. Zelenskyy has said many times he will never accept because it is unconstitutional and could create a launching pad for future Russian attacks. If confronted with pressure to accept Mr. Putin's demands, Mr. Zelenskyy would likely have to revert to a skill he has demonstrated time and again: diplomatic tact. The Ukrainian leadership is seeking a trilateral meeting with Mr. Zelenskyy, Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin to discuss sensitive matters, including territorial issues. Mr. Putin spoke with the leaders of India, Brazil and South Africa Monday to discuss his meeting with Mr. Trump in Alaska, the Kremlin said.
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Trilateral push: Trump, Zelenskyy open to talks with Putin on Ukraine war
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy say they are willing to enter trilateral dialogue with Vladimir Putin to end Russia's war in Ukraine New Delhi US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that they were open to three-way talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to end Russia's war in Ukraine. 'I just spoke to President Putin indirectly, and we're going to have a phone call right after these meetings today — and we may or may not have a trilat,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, using shorthand for trilateral negotiations. Zelenskyy, appearing alongside Trump, echoed the sentiment. 'We are ready for trilateral as the president said. It's a good signal about trilateral. I think this is very good,' he told reporters. The comments came ahead of a high-stakes White House meeting with European leaders, where discussions focused on long-term security guarantees for Kyiv. Trump suggested that a 'NATO-like' framework could emerge, while stressing that US troops would not be deployed. Trump-Putin Alaska summit The remarks come just days after Trump's meeting with Putin in Alaska, where the US president suggested that Zelenskyy would need to accept concessions to advance peace talks. Trump added that he plans to speak directly with the Russian leader again once his consultations with Zelenskyy and European counterparts conclude. After their press appearance, Trump and Zelenskyy held one-on-one talks before being joined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. European leaders present united stance European leaders, excluded from Trump's earlier session with Putin, arrived in Washington to ensure Ukraine's interests are safeguarded and to prevent wider Russian aggression on the continent. Their collective appearance at the White House marks a show of diplomatic unity. The gathering may have also been aimed at preventing tensions seen in February, when Trump publicly rebuked Zelenskyy during an Oval Office meeting for not showing enough gratitude for US aid. This time, EU leaders sought to present a coordinated front before moving into joint discussions in the East Room.
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
EU leaders start arriving at White House for Ukraine meeting
Washington, DC [US], August 18 (ANI): Ahead of the meeting with US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European leaders have started arriving at the White House. French President Emmanuel Macron, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, as well as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and EU leader Ursula von der Leyen, have already arrived at the White House. Rutte, von der Leyen and Starmer were the first to turn up, after meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Ukrainian Embassy in meeting with Zelensky comes days after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, as Trump tries to establish a ceasefire deal between Russia and Pro-Ukrainian demonstrators have been gathering near the White House ahead of Trump's meeting with are urging the US president to stand with Ukraine and calling for sanctions on Russia, among other punitive responses. During the Alaska summit, President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin made 'great progress" but did not emerge from today's summit with a deal on the war in Ukraine. Trump and Putin also addressed a gathering of journalists after the talks with relatively brief pre-prepared statements. Neither leader took any questions, according to Al said his country is committed to ending the war, but the conflict's 'primary causes" must be eliminated for an agreement to be also warned Ukraine and the European Union against throwing a 'wrench in the works" and cautioned against attempts to use 'backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress," as per Al praised the 'extremely productive meeting", in which he said 'many points were agreed to". He said there is a 'very good chance of getting there" – referring to a ceasefire – but conceded that there remain sticking points with Moscow, including at least one 'significant" cautioned that it's 'ultimately up to them" – referring to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 'There's no deal until there's a deal," he said. (ANI)
