Ukraine
Trump calls White House talks 'very good, early step' toward Russia-Ukraine peace: Here's what's next
President Donald Trump described his White House negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders as "a very good, early step" toward ending the nearly four-year-old Russia-Ukraine war, announcing that he has already spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about arranging a direct meeting with Zelenskyy.
Trump said the group of world leaders held discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine, with commitments coming primarily from European nations "in coordination with the United States" in a statement on Truth Social after the meetings.
"Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine," Trump said, adding that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff are now leading follow-up talks with Moscow and Kyiv.
Zelenskyy signaled he too was ready to meet directly with Putin.
A Kremlin readout of the Trump-Putin call confirmed the pair "discussed the idea of raising the level of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations," but did not say whether Putin had agreed.
FLASHBACK: WHAT HAPPENED THE PREVIOUS TIME ZELENSKYY MET WITH TRUMP IN THE OVAL OFFICE
President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland's President Alexander Stubb, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for a family photo amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, at the White House in Washington, Aug. 18, 2025. (Alexander Drago/Reuters)
Trump outlines next steps
Trump revealed that following the Oval Office meetings he phoned Putin to begin making "arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy." If that takes place, he said, the next stage would be a "Trilat" — a trilateral meeting involving himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy.Zelenskyy said he would be open to a meeting with Trump and Putin or a meeting with just Putin next.
"We confirmed that we are ready for a trilateral meeting," the Ukrainian president told reporters after the meeting. "And if Russia proposed to the President of the United States bilateral, and then we will see the result of the bilateral, then it can be trilateral. So I said, always, Ukraine will never stop on the way to peace, and we are ready for any kind of format but on the level of leaders."
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So Trump calls a meeting in the White House and within 3 days the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander
Stubb, German Chancellor all show up....and they express their respect for Trump.
I guess the Left lied about our allies not respecting Trump.
