What Zelensky, Putin and Trump want out of peace talks

Axios

2 hours ago

As Russia's war in Ukraine rages on, President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking lasting peace — but Trump administration officials have stressed no agreement is possible without concessions from both sides.
The big picture: Just a weekend separates President Trump's fruitless summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Monday's high-stakes White House meeting with Zelensky and his European allies. But in just days, the tides have shifted.
As the leaders are set to converge on Pennsylvania Avenue, Trump's positions — including that he's no longer seeking a "mere Ceasefire Agreement" — and a lack of new penalties for Russia seem unfavorable to Ukraine, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.
And the gathering is reminiscent of the diplomatic dumpster fire that exploded during Zelensky's last Oval Office visit, when the president accused him of disrespect.
Driving the news: Trump will host Zelensky at the White House Monday afternoon, along with several European leaders — including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte — who are aiming to present a united front.
But before the group gathers, Trump and Zelensky will first sit together for a bilateral discussion around 1:15pm ET.
State of play: On the campaign trail, Trump made the audacious vow that he'd swiftly end the bloodshed in 24 hours.
But the deadly war persists, with Russia's latest attacks in two Ukrainian cities killing 10 and injuring dozes of others ahead of the D.C. talks.
Trump has expressed it's "up to" Zelensky to make peace — while the Ukrainian leader says "Russia must end this war, which it itself started."
Here's what's at stake as talks continue:
What does Zelensky want?
Zelensky, in a Sunday social media post after his arrival in D.C., called for a lasting peace — not "like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East" to Russia.
But the Ukrainian leader has long been adamant that a ceasefire should be a precondition for peace talks. European leaders have echoed that call.
He's also said Ukraine will not gift land to the "occupier," which he noted would be barred by the country's Constitution. However, Trump has said there will be "land swapping."
Ahead of Trump's meeting with Putin, Zelensky warned that giving up the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine would provide a "springboard" for a future Russian offensive
Yes, but: There's a significant silver lining heading into Monday's talks: the hope for NATO-like security guarantees.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Putin had agreed to allow the U.S. and European nations to give Ukraine security guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5, which states that "an armed attack against one or more" member "shall be considered an attack against them all."
Over the weekend, Zelensky called for a trilateral meeting with the U.S., Ukraine and Russia — and if Russia refuses, he said, "new sanctions must follow."
What does Putin want?
The terms that Putin laid out to Trump, Axios' Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler report, included that Ukraine withdraw entirely from two of its eastern regions.
In a call, Trump and Witkoff briefed Zelensky and European leaders on Putin's positions, which included that Ukraine cede two regions to which Russia has laid claim, Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia controls nearly all of Luhansk and about three-quarters of Donetsk.
He presented a willingness to stop pushing forward in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as a concession, in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from Donetsk.
A source told Axios that Putin requested for the U.S. to recognize Russia's sovereignty in the parts of Ukraine it would gain under a deal.
Between the lines: Following the summit, Putin insisted that the "root causes" of the conflict must be "eliminated."
He has used that language before to push for the demilitarization of Ukraine.
What does Trump want?
Trump, in a Saturday Truth Social post, wrote that a peace agreement would be the best way to end the war.
On Sunday, Trump argued that Zelensky could "end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight."
He emphasized that Ukraine must give up Russian-annexed Crimea and abandon its hope to join NATO, a key Putin demand.
Trump's short-term goal is to get Putin and Zelensky to sit for a trilateral meeting, the conclusion of a three-step process outlined by administration officials to Axios' Marc Caputo.