Trump says ceasefire not necessary to end Ukraine war in meeting with Zelenskyy

Mr Zelenskyy notably appeared to be wearing a suit, thus removing at least one previous point of contention

Donald Trump meets with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House. Picture: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

US president Donald Trump appeared to rule out arranging a ceasefire as part of plans to try and end the war in Ukraine.

Mr Trump greeted Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy outside at the White House on Monday, before a press conference in the Oval Office.

Mr Zelenskyy could be seen wearing a black shirt with buttons and a black blazer. His attire appeared to become a point of irritation for Mr Trump during a previous meeting in February.

Asked about the potential for a ceasefire in the conflict, Mr Trump told reporters: “I don’t think you’d need a ceasefire.

“If you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war – I didn’t do any ceasefires.

“I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand, strategically, one country or the other wouldn’t want it. You have a ceasefire, and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild and, you know, maybe they don’t want that.

“I like the concept of a ceasefire for one reason, because you’d stop killing people immediately, as opposed to in two weeks or one week, or whatever it takes,” Mr Trump added.

“But we can work a deal, we’re working on a peace deal while they’re fighting.”

Mr Trump appeared to suggest his meeting with Mr Zelenskyy could result in a trilateral dialogue, amid efforts to end the fighting in Ukraine.

In the Oval Office, Mr Zelenskyy presented Mr Trump with a letter from his wife.

Mr Zelenskyy said he wanted to thank the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump, who on Friday penned a plea to Russian president Vladimir Putin, imploring him to protect the “innocence” of children.

Taking questions from reporters, Mr Trump heard two quotes attributed to Mr Zelenskyy – “Russia must end this war which it itself started” – and himself – that Mr Zelenskyy “can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wants to”.

Asked “which is it”, the US president replied: “I think that’s true. We’re going to have a meeting.

“I think if everything works out well today, we’ll have a trilat, and I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.”

President Donald Trump, left, greets Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he arrives at the White House. Picture: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Asked about “Nato-like protection” for Ukraine, Mr Trump said the US would “help them out with that”, referring to leaders of other European countries who were waiting for meetings with him.

Mr Trump said: “I don’t know if you define it that way, but Nato-like? I mean, we’re going to give, we have people waiting in another room right now, they’re all here, from Europe.

“Biggest people in Europe. And they want to give protection, they feel very strongly about it, and we’ll help them out with that.”

Setting his position publicly ahead of the meeting, Mr Zelenskyy repeated once again his call for allies to apply “joint pressure” on Russia to end the war and “stop the killings.” 

In a post on social media published shortly before going into the White House, he said:

“Our main goal is a reliable and lasting peace for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe. And it is important that the momentum of all our meetings lead to precisely this result. We understand that we shouldn’t expect Putin to voluntarily abandon aggression and new attempts at conquest. That is why pressure must work, and it must be joint pressure — from the United States and Europe, and from everyone in the world who respects the right to life and the international order.

"We must stop the killings, and I thank our partners who are working toward this and ultimately toward a reliable and dignified peace. Together with the leaders of Finland, the United Kingdom, Italy, the European Commission, and the Nato Secretary General, we coordinated our positions ahead of the meeting with President Trump. Ukraine is ready for a real truce and for establishing a new security architecture. We need peace.”

Mr Zelenskyy will meet Mr Trump for a bilateral meeting as well as a meeting with a host of European leaders. They are French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, British prime minister Keir Starmer, Italian premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish president Alexander Stubb, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.