Four key takeaways from Ukraine talks in Washington

President Volodymyr Zelensky returned to the White House on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump for fresh talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Several European leaders also flew to Washington to attend the meeting, days after Trump met Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Alaska for a summit that failed to result in a ceasefire.

Despite optimistic words by Trump and some more lukewarm assessments from his European partners, by Monday evening there were no concrete commitments to security guarantees or steps towards a peace deal.

Here are the key takeaways from the talks.

Following the summit, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had called Putin to begin arranging talks between the Russian leader and Zelensky.

Trump said that following such a bilateral, at a location to be determined, there would be a trilateral where the US president would join them.

A Putin adviser said afterwards that Trump and Putin spoke for 40 minutes by phone on Monday.

Before European leaders sat down with Trump in the East Room at the White House, a hot mic picked up remarks between the US leader and French President Emmanuel Macron.

“I think he wants to make a deal. I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand that? As crazy as that sounds,” Trump told Macron, appearing to refer to Putin.

It remains to be seen how straightforward it will be to bring two such bitter enemies face-to-face at the negotiating table for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

For months, Zelensky has been pushing to meet Putin, although this was likely a way of proving his argument that Russia is not serious about pursuing peace, as he believed the Kremlin had no interest in such a meeting.

Moscow has repeatedly turned down the idea of a Putin-Zelensky sit-down.

A noncommittal statement from Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov on Monday night said it was “worthwhile” to “explore the possibility of raising the level of representatives” from the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in negotiations.

Trump seemed to dismiss the need for any ceasefire before negotiations to end the war can take place.

In the past, that has been a key demand of Ukraine, which made clear it sees an end to the fighting as a prerequisite for further talks with Russia and, ultimately, for a longer-term settlement.

A ceasefire could also be marginally easier to agree than a full peace deal, which would take many months of negotiations, during which Russia’s assault on Ukraine would probably continue.

“I don’t know that it’s necessary,” Trump said of a ceasefire.

But the European leaders appeared to push back, with the strongest rebuttal coming from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” Merz said. “So, let’s work on that and let’s try to put pressure on Russia.”

When asked to speak, Zelensky did not reiterate his previous calls for a ceasefire to be put in place.

Trump told Zelensky the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end the war, without specifying the extent of any assistance.

The US president did not offer boots on the ground. But when asked by reporters whether US security guarantees for Ukraine could include any American military in the country, Trump did not rule it out.

He said Europe was the “first line of defence”, but that “we’ll be involved”.

“We’ll give them good protection,” the president said at one point.

This is the most decisive Trump has ever sounded on the issue of security guarantees, which are generally seen as paramount to any sort of deal with Russia.

He also said that during last week’s Alaska summit Putin had accepted that there would be security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any peace deal.

At a news conference after Monday’s meetings, Zelensky said part of the security guarantee would involve a $90bn (£67bn) arms deal between the US and Ukraine.

He said this would include US weapons that Ukraine does not have, including aviation systems, anti-missile systems “and other things I will not disclose”.

Zelensky also said the US would buy Ukrainian drones, which would help fund their domestic production of the unmanned craft.

The Ukrainian president told reporters that security guarantees for Kyiv would probably be worked out within 10 days.

Given his acrimonious last visit to the Oval Office in February, the Ukrainian president went to considerable lengths to charm his American hosts – including a flurry of six “thank yous” within the first few minutes of the meeting.

The last time he was at the White House, Zelensky was scolded by Vice-President JD Vance for a perceived lack of gratitude for US support for Ukraine.

This time, Zelenksy was wearing a dark suit rather than his traditional military garb, which drew a gibe from Trump last time that his guest was “all dressed up today”.

Zelensky also sought to forge family ties during the meeting, handing his host a letter from Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska to be delivered to US First Lady Melania Trump.

“It’s not to you – [it’s] to your wife,” he told Trump.

European leaders dialled up the flattery with Trump ahead of their multilateral meeting, heaping praise on him for his work in bringing them around the table.

“I really want to thank you for your leadership,” said Nato chief Mark Rutte.

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni said while there had previously been no sign that Russia wanted to move towards peace “something had changed” thanks to Trump.

Despite the warm tones, the Europeans tried to convey that they, too, feel exposed to any future Russian aggression.

French President Emmanuel Macron told fellow leaders somberly: “When we talk about security guarantees, we’re also talking about the matter of the security of the European continent.”