Trump met with Zelensky and EU leaders at the White House. What you need to know
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House on March 18 for a meeting with US President Donald Trump. Read about the details of the negotiations in the Izvestia article.
What was discussed at the Zelensky-Trump meeting
During the meeting, the head of the Kiev regime was unable to answer the question of readiness for territorial concessions for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. He also said he was ready to take part in trilateral talks with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to Trump, Russia and Ukraine should conclude a long-term peace, not just a cease-fire agreement. The politician noted that other conflicts that he helped resolve were resolved without first establishing a ceasefire.
"We will have a lasting peace. <...> I hope it comes immediately. I hope he (the conflict. — Ed.) won't have to last long. And I think people all over the world will be very happy when this is announced," he said.
Zelensky also stated that Kiev has programs for the purchase of US weapons. He then expressed gratitude to the United States and Europe, which pays for weapons through the NATO program. Trump, in turn, pointed out that the Ukrainian crisis is a conflict between former American leader Joe Biden, it should never have happened.
At the same time, the Roll Call publication reported that there was no joint statement by Zelensky and Trump after the meeting. However, the presidents of the United States and Ukraine held a joint open press conference for journalists.
In total, the public part of the negotiations lasted approximately 25 minutes. After that, the meeting continued behind closed doors.
The BBC reported that before the start of this part of the negotiations, a large map of Ukraine was displayed in the Oval Office where the presidents were sitting. On it, the eastern part of the country, highlighted in pink, showed the territory that Russia currently controls — about 20% of the land. Zelensky later called the card "magnificent" and joked about wanting to take it with him.
The non-public format of the meeting lasted about 30 minutes. After that, the presidents went to a meeting with European leaders.
How did Zelensky and Trump's meeting with European leaders go?
During the extended talks, the US president stressed the need to discuss a potential exchange of territories to resolve the conflict. He added that the current line of contact at the front will be taken into account when discussing the exchange. Trump expressed confidence that Zelensky would be able to find a common language with Putin to resolve the situation.
"Now the situation there [on the battlefield] is very deplorable [for Ukraine]. <...> I think that President Putin and you [Zelensky] will be able to come to some kind of option," he shared.
During the conversation, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated his readiness to provide security guarantees to Ukraine. In addition, the President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen announced the plans of the European Union (EU) to work on security guarantees like the fifth article of NATO.
Trump stressed that Russia is not against providing Kiev with such guarantees.
"President [of the Russian Federation Vladimir] Putin agreed that Russia will accept security guarantees for Ukraine, and this is one of the key points that we need to consider," he said.
In turn, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed discussing the end of the Ukrainian conflict at a quadrilateral meeting with the participation of Europe. After that, CNN suggested that Trump was unlikely to agree to hold such a meeting with the participation of the EU.
The head of the White House added that the prospects for resolving the Ukrainian conflict through negotiations will be clear "in a week or two." He stressed that there are no "too complicated" issues in the Ukrainian settlement. However, there is also a possibility that a settlement of the conflict will not be achieved. Speaking about the prospects of Ukraine joining NATO, Trump said that Russia initially did not support Kiev's joining the military bloc.
During the broadcast of the talks, CNN estimated that Zelensky thanked the American side four times for its help in the Ukrainian conflict in the first 10 seconds of his speech.
During the conversation, Trump announced another "small discussion" after meeting with the EU leaders, Zelensky and Rutte. He indicated that after him, the negotiators in Washington would go home.
What is known about the phone conversation between Trump and Putin
Earlier, during the public part of the conversation with Zelensky, Trump said that he plans to call Putin after the meeting at the White House. According to the American leader, the United States will continue to work with Russia and Ukraine so that "everything is fine."
Already in the process of negotiations with European leaders and Zelensky, Trump was forced to interrupt the meeting for a phone call to Putin. The Bild newspaper noted that after the conversation between the two presidents, the round of negotiations is planned to continue.
At the end of the call, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that Putin noted the importance of Trump's efforts to overcome the conflict. He noted that the world leaders discussed the idea of a possible increase in the level of representatives of Moscow and Kiev at the talks.
During the conversation, Putin and Trump expressed support for direct negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine. In addition, they agreed to continue close contacts on topical issues, including conflict resolution.
Later, the White House press service published a photo of Trump during a call to Putin.
How did Russia react to the meeting at the White House
In the context of the talks at the White House, Grigory Karasin, head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia that the atmosphere of the meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States in Alaska should be continued in the form of concrete results.
Malek Dudakov, an American political scientist, noted that the American leader has the necessary levers to persuade Ukraine to accept the settlement terms announced by the Russian president. According to the expert, Trump has the opportunity to put pressure on Ukraine: the country is still dependent on certain military trenches of the United States, and the Americans can block some of this, for example, the exchange of intelligence.
It will be much more difficult for the American leader to win over the European Union, since the positions of the countries there are very different, Dudakov said.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said on the social network X that Trump's meeting with the Ukrainian leader and the heads of EU countries was an important diplomatic event during which the achievement of lasting peace was discussed.
How Zelensky left Washington after the meeting
Even before the end of the negotiations, it was reported that Zelensky's previously scheduled interview with Fox News had been canceled. Later it became known that the interview did not take place by the decision of the Ukrainian leader, who, as part of his country's delegation, was leaving the United States on the same day.
It was noted that after the talks, the head of the Kiev regime left the White House in a long motorcade of black security vehicles.
What are the prospects for further negotiations between Russia and Ukraine
On the same day, on his Truth Social network, the US president announced that he had begun searching for a location for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky. He also said that Vice President of the United States Jay Dee Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy of the American leader Stephen Witkoff are coordinating their actions with Russia and Ukraine.
Axios journalist Barak Ravid, citing sources, said that the American leader hopes to hold a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine before the end of August.
Macron also expressed the opinion that a place will be chosen soon where negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will take place.
"It was decided that an attempt would first be made to establish bilateral contact between Zelensky and Putin at a location to be determined in the coming hours," he said.
The head of Ukraine also said that Kiev would not insist on a truce as a condition for further negotiations on the settlement process. He added that security guarantees will be worked out within 10 days.
All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
