Latest news with #Article5-like
7 hours ago
- Politics
Key takeaways from Trump and Zelenskyy's meeting, pivotal talks with European leaders
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 was joined in Washington by a remarkable delegation of European leaders who rushed to the U.S. in support of the Ukrainian leader in the wake of Friday's talks between Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska. 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 meeting 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. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump participate in a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, August 18, Lamarque/Reuters Afterward, they sat down with European leaders, who before news cameras pressed Trump publicly on the need for security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any deal -- after Trump made a new commitment on that point. Some also said a ceasefire would be necessary before further negotiations or any trilateral meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin. Here are some key takeaways from the high-stakes meetings. 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 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," Trump said. The president later confirmed that Putin said Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump didn't go quite as far as special envoy Steve Witkoff, who told CNN that Russia agreed to "Article 5-like" protections. Article 5 is the agreement of collective defense among NATO nations stating an attack against one member is considered an attack against them all. U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance, join President Donald Trump as he meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office at the White House, Aug. 18, 2025 in said Europe would need to shoulder much of the burden when it comes to security guarantees, but that the U.S. will play a role. "They are first line of defense because they're there," Trump said 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 in the Oval Office. "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." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump participate in a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, August 18, Lamarque/Reuters Trump pushes for a trilateral meeting, Zelenskyy says Ukraine 'ready' Trump 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. "I think it's going to be when," Trump said, "not if." President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, August 18, 2025. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images European leaders back up Zelenskyy on security guarantees, ceasefire Trump and Zelenskyy sat down with a host of European leaders in the East Room following their bilateral talks in the Oval Office. At the table were NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finland President Alexander Stubb. Nearly all the leaders stressed the need for security guarantees for Ukraine, with several saying it should look similar to Article 5 obligations. Ukraine is not a member of NATO but the nation has pushed for membership, something Russia is strongly opposed to. President Donald Trump makes remarks next to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House in Washington, Aug. 18, 2025. Aaron Schwartz/EPA/Shutterstock "The fact that you have said that I'm willing to participate in the security guarantees is a it's a big step. It's really a breakthrough," NATO's Rutte told Trump. "And, it makes all the difference. So also, thank you for that." France's Macron and Germany's Merz challenged Trump on a ceasefire, insisting it's a necessity for moving forward. "The next steps ahead are the more complicated ones now ... To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire," Germany's Merz said. Merz said he cannot imagine a trilateral meeting would be able to occur without a ceasefire in place. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speak during a meeting with President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, August 18, 2025. Alexander Drago/Reuters 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. ABC News' Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
The Hill
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
What could Article 5-like guarantees look like for Ukraine?
Security guarantees for Ukraine are emerging this week as a central component to any deal that might end the long war between Russia and Ukraine. When the war started in 2022, Ukraine had hoped to enter NATO, which would have given it Article 5 assurances under which an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on every member. NATO membership is now on hold, but President Trump's point person for talks with the Kremlin, Steve Witkoff, has said that the U.S. could participate in 'Article 5-like protections' for Ukraine. Trump on Monday called it a significant step that Russia had agreed that the U.S. and European countries could provide Ukraine with security guarantees, but he appeared to keep any assurances vague and downplayed that they would be on par with NATO. 'I don't know if you define it that way – NATO-like,' said Trump, who met at the White House Monday with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders. A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow rejects ideas for putting troops from NATO-member states on Ukrainian soil. Zelensky wants as much of a guarantee as he can get after his country has been repeatedly attacked by Russia. 'Everything,' Zelensky said, giving his interpretation of what should be included in the guarantees. Everything could include Western troops on the ground, intelligence sharing and a commitment to deliver military equipment. There are various schools of thought on what U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine could or should look like. 'Article 5 is not a be all and end all. It is intentionally vague,' said Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution think tank, and who authored a piece in 2024 about options for security guarantees for Ukraine. Here's a look at some of the main schools of thought. America First ideas Trump has relied on his special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, in crafting his administration's strategy on the war. Kellogg is an alumni of the America First Policy Institute, a think-tank founded to advance the president's 'America first' agenda. Along with AFPI fellow Fred Fletiz, who served as chief of staff at the National Security Council in Trump's first term, Kellog reportedly presented a plan to the president in June laying out how to get Zelensky and Putin to the negotiating table. Fleitz told Reuters that 'arming Ukraine to the teeth' was part of security guarantees for Kyiv. This could be achieved through Trump's so-called deal to sell U.S. weapons to NATO and for NATO to transfer those weapons to Ukraine. 'We're not giving anything. We're selling weapons,' Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday. Trump said Europe would take the lead on providing the first line of defense but said the U.S. would be helping. 'Mainstream' security ideas Luke Coffey, senior fellow at Hudson Institute, published a report in April on a five-layered security guarantee for Ukraine. He said it represents a centrist approach that the mainstream policy crowd in Washington could get behind that provides meaningful U.S. support that would not drain U.S. resources. 'The initial reaction by any pro-Ukraine person would be, 'well, let's get them into NATO.' Well, I want them into NATO too, but let's be honest, with Trump, that's not going to happen. So I'm trying to come up with the most realistic possibility,' he said. Under this approach, U.S. forces could be used to help European countries defend Ukraine. This could include air-to-air refueling, intelligence sharing, Black Sea patrols and the prepositioning of U.S. forces outside Ukraine for potential deployment in a crisis, Coffey wrote in the report, which was published in April. Coffey also calls for re-starting the National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP) with Ukraine. The partnership promotes military-to-military engagement with America's allies abroad, and since 1993, the California National Guard has partnered with Ukraine. But that partnership froze with Russia's full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022. 'That could be a way to ease U.S. boots back onto the ground,' Coffey said, noting they usually do two-week rotations for training. Coffey spoke out against a bilateral U.S.-Ukraine security agreement, saying if people wanted to commit American troops to Ukraine's defense it would make more sense to just admit Ukraine to NATO. Coffey said the risks for the U.S. would depend on the scenario. 'This isn't without risk, the U.S. could get dragged in, in a sense, depending on the scenario, but then you'd have Russia at war with France, Germany, the U.K and maybe Italy,' he said. 'Realism and restraint' The Quincy Institute, established in 2019, bills itself as putting forward policy ideas in Washington that offer 'realism and restraint,' said Mark Episkopos, a research fellow in its Eurasia Program. Episkopos said Article 5-like guarantees for Ukraine could look a lot like the support that is already being provided but 'with some additional steps.' 'These may include a no-fly zone, provision of more advanced weaponry, and limited rearguard deployments of European troops. The U.S. contribution would likely center on logistics, aerial support, military aid, and provision of targeting data, all key roles which do not require U.S. boots on the ground,' Episkopos said, echoing some of Coffey's ideas. 'While this proposal does not commit Western troops to defend Ukraine, neither does it close the door on such intervention, introducing a kind of strategic ambiguity that can itself be a deterrent against a Russian reinvasion,' he continued. Isolationists in Trump's Make America Great Again movement want to ensure the U.S. is not drawn into another major war on behalf of another country. Opponents – the MAGA Isolationists 'I've never voted to send a single penny to Ukraine. I've only called for peace,' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a MAGA firebrand, posted on X in July. Greene's full-throated opposition for aid to Ukraine represents is a bit of an outlier position in Congress, where a majority of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle view U.S. support for Ukraine as in America's national security interest. Charlie Kirk, another leading personality in MAGA-world, pushed U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker to oppose Article 5-like security guarantees in an interview on Monday. 'The perspective of my audience, and for me, is we don't want America involved at all,' he said. Whitaker in the interview sold the president's line, that Europe is taking charge of its security by increasing its defense spending and purchasing weapons from the U.S., and pushed back on Kirk's assertions that Europe was only interested in continuing the war. 'This is my perspective as the US ambassador to NATO, I don't see that Europe wants to continue, to continue this war,' he said. 'I think President Trump's just trying to see if there's a set of circumstances where he can bring this to an end.'
Spectator
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Donald Trump was on his best behaviour in his meeting with Zelensky
It was back to black for Volodymyr Zelensky. After the Trump White House asked whether he was going to wear a suit for his Oval Office meeting, the Ukrainian president showed up in a dark military-style jacket, pleasing his hosts to no end. Even Brian Glenn, boyfriend of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and reporter for Real America's Voice, who had dissed Zelensky in February, commended him on his habiliments, declaring 'you look fabulous in that suit.' Zelensky was pleased. So was Trump. In fact, Trump was on his best behaviour. After ranting earlier in the morning that he didn't need all the experts to tell him what to think and that Ukraine should essentially prostrate itself before Russia, he avoided any verbal fisticuffs with Zelensky or talk about exiting Nato. Instead, Trump breathed optimism about where the negotiations, which he hopes will secure him a coveted Nobel Peace Prize, were headed. 'I think it's going to be when, not if,' Trump said about a trilateral meeting between him, Putin and Zelensky. He may not have rolled out a red carpet for Zelensky when he arrived in Washington, as he did for Putin in Alaska, but he treated him with unwonted respect. According to Trump, 'I have a feeling you and president Putin are going to work something out. Ultimately, this is a decision that can only be made by president Zelensky and by the people of Ukraine working also together in agreement with president Putin. And I just think that very good things are going to come of it.' If the meeting with European leaders that took place later in the afternoon was anything to go by, Trump's eupeptic push for a peace deal is not meeting with overt resistance. Quite the contrary. Zelensky indicated that territorial concessions would be discussed should he meet Putin. It was clever of Zelensky to put the onus back on Putin rather than rejecting out-of-hand the prospect of land swaps. 'If we played this well, we could end this, and we have to end it,' Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said. Indeed, he called Trump's offer of security guarantees for Ukraine a 'breakthrough.' What those guarantees would look like remains unclear. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who appears to have established a good working relationship with Trump, indicated that it was imperative to provide 'Article 5-like guarantees' to Ukraine. What this will amount to is an open question – Germany announced today that it was already overstretched with its stationing of a Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania and that it is unlikely to put any boots on the ground in Ukraine. But the biggest obstacle to a peace deal, of course, is whether Putin even wants one. 'President Putin wants to find an answer, too,' Trump said. Does he? So far, as he launches fresh fusillades of missiles and drones at Ukraine, the Russian tyrant appears to believe that he has more to benefit from continuing rather than halting the war that he, and he alone, launched in February 2022. For all the bonhomie that existed between him and Trump in Alaska, it may be replaced by a more adversarial relationship in coming weeks should Putin maintain his obduracy about reaching an actual deal.
11 hours ago
- Politics
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.
11 hours ago
- Politics
Trump-Zelenskyy live updates: US will give Ukraine 'very good protection,' Trump says
"But we're going to help them. And also we'll be involved," Trump said. President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House for a high-stakes meeting as the U.S. president pushed for a deal to end Moscow's war on its neighbor. A host of European leaders joined the pair. The day of meetings follows Trump's Friday summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska -- and it comes about six months after an explosive Oval Office meeting between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vice President JD Vance. 1 Updates 51 minutes ago Trump says he will call Putin after Monday's meetings President Donald Trump said he will call Russian President Vladimir Putin after his meetings Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr 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. President Donald Trump continues to be vague on the details of any possible security guarantees, saying the U.S. will support Ukraine but stopping short of the "Article 5-like protection" floated over the weekend by White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. "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. Trump and Zelenskyy will meet with European leaders after their Oval Office talks. Trump walks back on ceasefire demand After previously pushing for a ceasefire and threatening severe consequences for Russia if President Vladimir Putin did not stop the war, President Trump on Monday 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." "But we can work a deal where we're working on a peace deal while they're fighting," he said.
