Trump arranges Zelenskyy-Putin meeting as European leaders push for Ukraine security guarantees

Vladimir Putin has agreed to face-to-face talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a peace deal in Ukraine, according to Donald Trump and European leaders, although Moscow has not confirmed the meeting.

The potential breakthrough came after a day of tense diplomacy at the White House in which Trump ruled out a ceasefire while Zelenskyy and his allies pushed for US-backed security guarantees as part of any long-term agreement.

The Ukrainian president said that following the talks security guarantees for Kyiv would be “formalised” within 10 days.

“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that a trilateral meeting including the US president would follow.

European leaders confirm talks

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appeared to confirm the meeting. Merz told reporters: “The American president spoke with the Russian president on the phone and agreed that there would be a meeting between the Russian president and the Ukrainian president within the next two weeks”.

But the chancellor cautioned: “We don’t know whether the Russian president will have the courage to attend such a summit. Therefore, persuasion is needed”.

Putin, for his part, said he was open to the “idea” of direct talks with Ukraine as he spoke by phone with Trump, according to Russia’s Tass news agency, but there was no confirmation that the meeting would take place.

Security guarantees central to discussions

Trump said the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s safety – something Kyiv has long said would be essential for a lasting peace. Trump said: “When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help”.

But the US president made it clear that European countries would be expected to carry the burden, adding: “They are a first line of defence because they’re there. But we’ll help them out”.

The Ukrainian president said his country has offered to buy $90bn worth of US weapons as part of the security guarantee, “which primarily includes aircraft, air defence systems”.

French president Emmanuel Macron said the talks did not include Kyiv surrendering territory to Russia.

No ceasefire agreement

Trump acknowledged: “All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace. Maybe something like that could happen. As of this moment, it’s not happening”.

Merz insisted that “we would all like to see a ceasefire” and he could not imagine the next meeting taking place without one.

Trump suggested that would be left to Zelenskyy and Putin: “Well, we’re going to let the president go over and talk to the president, and we’ll see how that works out”.

(information from The Guardian)