US President Donald Trump hosted his Ukrainian counterpart and European leaders on Monday for highly anticipated talks on the war. The scene was a marked departure from a past meeting, with both leaders signaling optimism before going into talks.
For his part, President Trump signaled a willingness to provide Ukraine with security guarantees as a part of any peace deal. Trump stated that they would give Ukraine “very good protection, very good security” because it is a vital part of the agreement.
Officials participating in the talks included UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy personally thanked President Trump for his “personal efforts” and signaled his openness to a trilateral meeting with Russia.
Trump has sought to portray this proposed three-way meeting as the next step in his efforts to end the Russian war. President Trump said he spoke to Vladimir Putin “indirectly” and would speak by phone with the Russian leader “right after” today’s meeting.
He did not rule out sending US forces to Ukraine as part of a potential security guarantee, saying “we’ll let you know that.” When asked, Trump said that this meeting is “not the end of the road” for US support for Ukraine as people are still being killed.