Putin and Zelenskyy to meet, Donald Trump says following European leaders summit

Moscow has yet to confirm meeting after day of intense diplomacy at White House with European leaders

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump participate in a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2025. Picture: Mandel NGAN / AFP

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet, Donald Trump has said following a White House summit with European leaders aimed at bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.

The US president spoke directly with the Russian president to begin planning a meeting between the two warring leaders, which will then be followed by a three-way meeting involving himself.

It comes after Mr Trump said Moscow will “accept” multinational efforts to guarantee Ukraine’s security while hosting several European leaders including the Ukrainian President, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.

Posting on his Truth Social platform after the meeting, Mr Trump said he and the eight leaders discussed security guarantees before he called the Russian president.

He described the meeting as “very good” and added: “During the meeting we discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, which guarantees would be provided by the various European countries, with a coordination with the United States of America.

“Everyone is happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.

“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called president Putin and began arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between president Putin and president Zelenskyy.

“After the meeting takes place, we will have a trilat which would be the two presidents plus myself.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy (front) at the negotiating table ahead of closed-door talks, watched on by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French president Emmanuel Macron and US president Donald Trump (Alex Brandon/AP)

Before the White House talks, the US president said he would “probably” be able to find common ground with the leaders on a plan to ward off future attacks on Ukraine.

He previously met with Mr Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, where he declared there was “no deal until there’s a deal” to end more than three years of fighting in eastern Europe.

“The Alaska summit reinforced my belief that while difficult, peace is within reach and I believe, in a very significant step, President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine,” Mr Trump said on Monday.

“And this is one of the key points that we need to consider.”

We are very happy with the president that all the leaders are here and security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you and on those leaders who are with us in our hearts

He later said: “We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory taken into consideration the current line of contact.”

(left to right) President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission; Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom; President Alexander Stubb of Finland; President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine; United States President Donald J Trump; President Emmanuel Macron of France; Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of the Italian Republic; Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany and Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) pose for a 'family photo' in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, US. Picture date: Monday August 18, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Aaron Schwartz/PA Wire

Mr Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, had suggested measures similar to Nato’s article five mutual defence provision – that an attack on one member is an attack on the entire bloc – could be offered by the US without Kyiv joining the alliance.

“We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer article five-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato,” Mr Witkoff told CNN over the weekend, as he spoke about the Alaska summit.

Future three-way talks “have a good chance” of stopping the conflict, the US president claimed.

But the president appeared to share conflicting views on whether a ceasefire was necessary to stop the war.

“I don’t think you need a ceasefire,” he had originally said, before later explaining that, “all of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace”.

Keir Starmer welcomed plans for a security guarantee, after Mr Trump introduced him at the negotiating table as a “friend”.

Mr Starmer said: “Your indication of security guarantees, of some sort of article five-style guarantees, fits with what we’ve been doing with the coalition of the willing which we started some months ago, bringing countries together and showing that we were prepared to step up to the plate when it came to security.

United States President Donald J Trump leads European leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, in the Cross Hall of the White House (Aaron Schwartz/PA)

“With you coming alongside, the US alongside, what we’ve already developed, I think we could take a really important step forward today – a historic step, actually, could come out of this meeting in terms of security for Ukraine and security in Europe.”

Mr Zelenskyy, whom Mr Trump greeted at the door of the West Wing with a handshake earlier in the evening, wore a black shirt with buttons and a black blazer to the meeting at the White House.

His attire had appeared to become a point of irritation for Mr Trump during a previous meeting in February.

Early in the meeting, the Ukrainian described the talks as “really good”, saying they had been “the best” so far.

Mr Zelenskyy said: “We are very happy with the president that all the leaders are here and security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you and on those leaders who are with us in our hearts.”