An unprecedented meeting was held at the White House. Not only the arrival of a lasting peace that all Ukrainians are waiting for, but also the security of all of Europe will depend on joint decisive steps.
This was written on Telegram by the head of the administration of Volodymyr Zelensky - Andriy Yermak, after the meeting between the Ukrainian President and Donald Trump in Washington. Key European leaders were also there.
„We talked well both in bilateral and multilateral formats. (As our President rightly noted: „This was the best meeting with the President of the United States. Although I am sure: the best is yet to come“). President Trump clearly stated that he is striving for the earliest possible end to this war and peace for many years. He personally confirmed: Ukraine must receive reliable security guarantees,“ Ermak pointed out.
“During the conversation, there was complete mutual understanding. Together, we discussed specific steps to strengthen the defense capabilities of our state as one of the key elements of future security guarantees. We also discussed post-war reconstruction and the prospects for Ukraine's membership in the EU, strengthening our army and the restoration of Ukraine,“ said Ermak.
According to him, various topics were discussed, including the abducted Ukrainian children, as well as the need to return military and civilian Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Donald Trump said last night that he would begin preparations for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which would be followed by trilateral talks with him, world agencies reported, quoted by BTA.
This came after a conversation at the White House between the American president and Zelensky, followed by an expanded meeting, which was attended by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Russian president agreed in a telephone conversation with his American counterpart to participate in this future meeting, which should take place within the next two weeks, Merz reported.
“We are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin and then we expect a trilateral meeting“ with the participation of Donald Trump, the Ukrainian head of state told journalists. The possible territorial concessions that Russia is demanding from Ukraine are “an issue that we will leave (to be settled) between me and Putin“, he added.
“The idea was discussed that it would be good to explore the possibility of raising the level of representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian sides, that is, those representatives who are participating in direct negotiations“, said the diplomatic adviser to the Russian president, Yuri Ushakov.“Donald Trump specified on his social network Truth Social that the meeting, the location of which has not yet been determined, would be followed by trilateral talks with his participation, the aim of which is to end the ongoing three and a half years of conflict that began with the Russian invasion. He added that he had discussed with his European guests “security guarantees for Ukraine – guarantees that will be provided by various European countries in coordination with the United States“.
Moscow rejects any security guarantees that go through NATO and its collective defense mechanism, the famous Article 5.