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CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Michelle Caruso-Cabrera: Biggest question is what does security guarantee look like
CNBC's Eamon Javers and Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, MCC Global Enterprises CEO, join 'Power Lunch' to discuss what to expect from President Trump's meeting with Ukraine President Zelenskyy and EU leaders today at the White House.
an hour ago
Key takeaways from Trump and Zelenskyy's Oval Office meeting to discuss Ukraine
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sounded positive as they met at the White House on Monday as Trump pushes for an end to Russia's war on Kyiv. Zelenskyy is joined in Washington by a sweeping delegation of European leaders who rushed to the U.S. in support of the Ukrainian leader after being left out of talks between Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska last Friday. The last time Zelenskyy was in the Oval Office was February, when he received a verbal lashing from President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who accused him of not being grateful enough for U.S. military assistance. Monday's sit-down was a much more cordial affair, with Trump and Zelenskyy sharing smiles and Zelenskyy thanking the president for his personal efforts to bring this conflict to a close. Here are some key takeaways from the high-stakes meeting. Trump says US will give Ukraine 'very good protection' President Trump on Monday said the United States will be involved in security assistance for Ukraine -- a key condition for Zelenskyy in any deal to end the war -- but did not elaborate on what exactly that would look like or give any specifics. "We're going to be discussing it today, but we will give them very good protection, very good security. That's part of it," Trump said. The president declined to go as far as Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, who told CNN that Russia agreed to "Article 5-like" protections for Ukraine during Friday's summit. Article 5 is the agreement of collective defense among NATO nations stating an attack against one member is considered an attack against them all. "We'll let you know that maybe later today," Trump said. "We're meeting with seven great leaders of great countries also, and we'll be talking about that. They'll all be involved, but there'll be a lot of -- there'll be a lot of help when it comes to security." "They are first line of defense because they're there," Trump said of Europe before adding, "But we're going to help them. And also we'll be involved." Trump walks back ceasefire demand After previously pushing for a ceasefire and threatening severe consequences for Russia if Putin did not stop the war, President Trump appeared to back off that demand. "I don't think you need a ceasefire," he said when asked about whether his previous call for a ceasefire had changed. "I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically, like, well, you know, one country or the other wouldn't want it." He continued that he likes "the concept of a ceasefire for one reason, because you'd stop killing people immediately." Trump pushes for trilateral meeting Trump repeatedly expressed optimism that, "We're gonna have a lasting peace." Trump also continued to push for a trilateral meeting between himself, Zelenskyy and Putin -- something he had hoped to set up immediately following his summit with Putin on Friday but was unsuccessful. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is "ready" for a trilateral discussion. Asked if this is the end of the road for U.S. support for Ukraine if there is no deal made, Trump said, "It's never the end of the road." "People are being killed, and we want to stop that. So, I would not say it's the end of the road. No, I think we have a good chance of doing it," Trump said. Trump says he will speak with Putin after meetings Trump said he will call Putin after his meetings Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House. "We're going to have a phone call right after these meetings today, and we may or may not have a trilat. And if we don't have a trilat, then the fighting continues. And if we do, we have a good chance -- I think if we have a trilat that there's a good chance of maybe ending it," Trump said. "But he's expecting my call when we're finished with this meeting," Trump added of Putin.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Trump Aims to Set Putin-Zelenskiy Meeting
Live on Bloomberg TV CC-Transcript 00:00The security guarantees are zelenskiy's number one concern. And of course, the most interesting item we've heard is the potential Article five style guarantee between several European nations and maybe the US and Ukraine. That, as you know, is it NATO's Article five is the mutual self-defense part of this. But the reality is that this security guarantee is going to take not only the pledges but a lot of weapons, most of which Trump already has in the works. So, you know, two Patriot batteries from Germany going down to Ukraine, the continued sale of US weapons, the participation of NATO partners, because there will still be a nearly 800 mile front to defend, to contain Russia, and then also to contain Russia's activities in the Black Sea, where Ukraine has done a fantastic job. So expect a lot of military hardware to be in the mix for these security guarantees. Well, Rebecca, earlier this year, we saw the United Kingdom and also France proposed this idea that there would be some sort of security guarantee led by Europe, but then backed up by the United States. And that could include reassurance forces, air cover, things like that. Is that where you see this sort of guarantee trending towards or could we see perhaps a more wide ranging one like the one that Mike was talking about, something similar to Article five without actual natal membership? I would say all of the above. And you're so smart to raise the air peace because this security guarantee in operation will have to be what the military calls multi-domain. So Ukraine already shares NATO's cyber awareness. And of course, Elon Musk has used StarLink there. But this is going to take a lot of air power as well. And Britain and France have talked about potentially putting peacekeepers on the ground, which really gets Putin's backup. But if there is some territory to be traded, the number one job will be making sure that that is done in a safe and secure manner as Russian forces and Ukrainian forces retrograde in the battle space. So I wouldn't be surprised to see some peacekeeping observers or forces there on the ground. But longer term, this is really going to be about air defense, cyber domain control, and, of course, controlling that land front and keeping the Russian fleet bottled up in the Black Sea, which Ukraine has done so well. Rebecca, do you see the U.S. taking any direct role in enforcing those security guarantees, say with boots on the ground? The president and Steve Wycoff indicated a little bit more openness to this, but it's unclear whether that would be more than an advisory role. What's your take on it? Well, first off, that will be up to President Zelensky, who for the record, has never requested us or NATO's boots on the ground. The U.S. role here will be absolutely essential in overall command and control and playing a role in training of Ukrainian forces, which we've already seen Naito and the US partners do. But the specifics of it look like, you know, that's going to be yet another thing for Zelensky to decide because he will have to invite any forces into his country. And Rebecca, we went from hearing talks go from a cease fire to talks that they want a full peace deal. We had Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the weekend in an interview say that one of the problems with a cease fire approach is that a cease fire has to be maintained. And it doesn't seem like Russia is coming to the table in a meaningful way to agree to a cease fire or a pause in the fighting. What's the strategic reason here to push for a finalized deal forgoing a cease fire? Is this creating urgency or is this Russia just buying time at this point? Well, best case, I think because the cease fire is just haven't worked. You know, we've been close to cease fires a couple of times this spring. And then there went Putin unleashing, you know, 500 drones and Iskander missiles right back into Ukraine. Luckily, Ukraine shooting them down. That was a big reversal coming out of Alaska. And I think Trump is seeing there is momentum for an actual possible peace deal. And I think Rubio was very realistic about how tough this is all going to be. But they're willing to try for that whole peace deal at this point. That, of course, the issue, like you said, is will Russia truly respect it when they tell them to stop shooting? Rebecca, what does success look like from today for European leaders and then for Volodymyr Zelensky as they go to meet with Donald Trump? Well, for Europe, it's just one thing, and that is to deter Russia. Russia has rearmed. They're on track to replace all their losses in Ukraine. And Putin has that economy on a wartime footing with the 100% back up of China, which is terrible. So the Europeans, no matter what comes out of this meeting or the peace process, Europe will be defending against Russia and Putin for the long term. So they want to make sure that Ukraine can be a viable part of that defense for Ukraine, a viable state, a viable economy, sovereignty and a path forward. I'd like to see every Russian out of Ukraine. But we're really hearing that that defacto line of control will be there. Right, exactly. Rebecca And as you're speaking for our radio listeners and those joining us on Bloomberg Television, we're seeing the Ukrainian President Zelensky get out of his car, shake President Trump's hand. Let's listen in. People of Ukraine as world leaders gathered here today. Russia continues. Russia continues to attack Japan and Kharkiv, killing many. They're doing something. All right. That was Ukrainian President Zelensky pulling up to the White House, shaking President Trump's hand. He was asked what his message was to the people of Ukraine. And President Trump responded, quote, We love them. Of course, this is a big, big day. It's hard to underestimate how high stakes this meeting is, as now Ukrainian President Zelensky is inside the White House alongside half a dozen European leaders who have also traveled here to Washington on short notice to show their support. And it was notable that President Donald Trump only came out of the White House to greet Vladimir Zelensky. The other European leaders were greeted by other administration officials as their cars pulled up, at least from what we could see outside. And really, the stakes could not be higher, especially for Volodymyr Zelensky, who is viewing this moment as perhaps an existential one for for his country. A really important moment. And Rebecca, I want to bring you back into this conversation as now the leaders are there at the White House. They are getting these talks underway. I'd love to get your perspective here on those other leaders that are there beyond the Ukrainian president Zelensky We have some that President Trump has relatively warm relations with, as we've been discussing here on balance of power, like the Italian prime minister, Georgia Maloney, NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte. What do you make of the optics now that we have all of these European allies in the same room for these discussions? Bigger than the Alaska summit. Look at the ceremony, the location in the capital and these leaders. So I'm very impressed. We see Keir Starmer from Britain, who has Britain, has led the way all along in support for Ukraine and in greenlighting the use of longer range weapons. Emmanuel Macron Very central, of course. Friedrich Merz Very important, as I mentioned, German, Ukrainian, German, the Patriot batteries going down to Ukraine. These are the European power players. Very important that we have Finland's President Stubb there as well. That's a long border between Finland and Russia. Finland would never have joined NAITO without this rising Russian threat that they've seen and changing that policy of neutrality. So these are the players along with Italy and Georgia Maloney and of course, Mark Rutte, the former prime minister of the Netherlands. So smart in keeping this group together. And he's the NATO's secretary general. That got NATO's to 5%. These are the European power players Putin is watching. Xi Jinping in China is Russian, because all those leaders know that Xi Jinping cannot be trusted either. They know who's responsible for keeping Russia in this war. So this is the group that can give Ukraine the security guarantees, the economic deals, and for true, powerful deterrence against Russia going forward is the right players in the room. Rebecca, When it comes to actually reaching some sort of a final deal, Donald Trump has floated this idea of land swaps and giving back some territory to giving some territory over to Russia that Russia has taken from Ukraine. In what universe do you see Vladimir Zelensky actually accepting that as part of these discussions either now or down the road? Yeah, maybe. Maybe the universe that is convened there in the White House. Mark Walker has talked about it as though it's a de facto recognition, but not a degree that will still be recognized as part of Ukraine, but under Russian control. Nobody likes this, but there we are. The most painful part, possibly if they are asked to give up territory in Donetsk province that Ukraine has held, such as the city of Kramatorsk. But we are looking at this as a possibility. I think it does put Zelensky in a tough position. But I remind you of two things. One, he was elected in 2019 to try to bring about a peace agreement after the 2014 invasion and the continued fighting and loss of life there. And also it's very important now to think about rebuilding Ukraine. And Trump has put together, I think, what he has called a really good deal. This should be an excellent deal. And I hope it's enough that Zelensky can take it and, as they say, end the war at the negotiating table rather than on the battlefield.
