Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday offered an upbeat assessment of talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, saying the two leaders discussed security guarantees.
“We had a very good conversation with President Trump, and it really was the best one — or, maybe the best one will be in the future,” Zelenskyy said during an expanded meeting with European leaders.
Trump said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, had at the summit talks last week accepted that there would be security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any peace deal.
"In a very significant step, President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine and this is one of the key points that we need to consider and we're going to be considering that at the table, also who will do what essentially," said Trump as he opened talks with European leaders and Zelenskyy at the White House.
"I think the European nations are going to take a lot of the burden. We're going to help them and we're going to make it very secure," he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a future four-way meeting about Ukraine that would include Europe.
He said the idea of a trilateral meeting - involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine - is "very important, because this is the only way to fix it," but suggested Europe should also be involved, without specifying who should speak for Europe.
"As a follow up, we would need the quadrilateral meeting, because when we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent," Macron said, according to a press pool transcript of the meeting. "This is why we are all united here with Ukraine."
European leaders stress security guarantees key to lasting peace in Ukraine
Meanwhile, European leaders underlined that robust security guarantees for Ukraine will be essential to achieve a just and lasting peace, while also renewing calls for an urgent ceasefire.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the negotiations between Trump and Zelenskyy as a critical moment.
"We are here, Europeans, as friends and allies... Stop the killing. This is really our common interest," she said.
She added that discussions over guarantees modeled on NATO's Article 5 (on mutual defense) are "so important" to ensure Ukraine's long-term security. Von der Leyen also highlighted the plight of abducted Ukrainian children, stressing that their return must remain a top priority in talks.
NATO chief Mark Rutte also made a call to urgently halt the violence.
"If we play this well, we could end this. And we have to end this. We have to stop the killing. We have to stop the destruction of Ukraine's infrastructure. It is a terrible war," he said.
Rutte emphasized the importance of seizing the momentum of the talks. "Let's make the best out of today and make sure that from today onwards, we get this thing to an end as soon as possible."
He also hailed Europe's readiness to contribute to long-term guarantees for Kyiv as a breakthrough.
"The fact that you have said 'I am willing to participate in the security guarantees,' is a big step. It is really a breakthrough, and it makes all the difference," Rutte said, calling this commitment crucial for the credibility of peace efforts.
