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The leaders presented a relatively united front and appeared to agree on the next steps in the effort to halt the fighting between Ukraine and Russia. But much remained unresolved.
Aug. 18, 2025, 9:27 p.m. ET
President Trump met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and European leaders at the White House on Monday, in a cordial but inconclusive push to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Much of the meeting focused on what security guarantees the European nations and the United States would provide Ukraine if Mr. Zelensky agreed to a deal to end the fighting. Mr. Trump also spoke to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to begin setting up a possible direct meeting between Mr. Zelensky and the Russian leader, though it was not clear when or even whether such a session would come about.
Here are five takeaways from the meeting.
The leaders presented a relatively united front.
Three days after Mr. Trump gave Mr. Putin a literal red carpet welcome at their meeting in Alaska and abandoned several key positions he had staked out beforehand, he presided over a discussion with America’s traditional allies in which the participants largely emphasized common ground.
Some differences broke through. Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany argued for a cease-fire to be put in place before further negotiations with Russia, but was gently rebuffed by Mr. Trump. And President Emmanuel Macron of France suggested he was skeptical that Mr. Putin was dealing in good faith. “I am not convinced that President Putin also wants peace,” he told reporters at a news conference.
But there were no blowups of the sort that ended a previous visit by Mr. Zelensky to the White House. All the participants appeared to agree with a plan to arrange direct talks between Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Putin even while other issues are worked out, such as the precise nature of the security guarantees for Ukraine and what if any territory Ukraine might be willing to cede.
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Zelensky, European Leaders Push Trump for Security Guarantees
President Trump met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and several other European leaders on Monday to discuss the terms for a potential cease-fire with Russia. Mr. Trump also spoke with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, although it was unclear if he would directly participate in talks with Mr. Zelensky.
“It’s an honor to have the president of Ukraine with us. We’ve had a lot of good discussions with a lot of good talks, and I think progress is being made — very, very substantial progress in many ways.” Reporter: “What guarantees do you need from President Trump to be able to make a deal? Is it American troops? Intelligent equipment? What is it?” “Everything — and really it’s includes two parts. First, strong Ukrainian Army. And second, we will discuss with our partners. It depends on big countries, on the United States, on a lot of our friends.” “Everybody around this table is in favor of peace. And we work very hard, and we’ve worked very hard during the past few years to have a peace which is robust and longstanding peace. When we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent. And this is why we are all united here with Ukraine on this matter.”
