 "US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stand for a family photo with European leaders in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC. European leaders join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in talks with US President Donald Trump, as they try to find a way to end Russia's offensive. AFP")
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House. We have seen this scene before, but Monday’s meeting (August 18) was unlike the February one where the US president berated his Ukrainian counterpart, following which Zelenskyy abruptly left the premises.
This time around, there was no shouting match and even a few moments of levity. Also, on Monday, Zelenskyy wasn’t alone; he was accompanied by a remarkable delegation of European leaders — Germany’s Friedrich Merz, France’s Emmanuel Macron, the United Kingdom’s Keir Starmer, Nato’s Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Council President Ursula Von der Leyen, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni — who rushed to the US in support of the Ukrainian leader.
What was even more noticeable was Zelenskyy’s choice of attire; gone was the combat-style of dressing, with the Ukrainian president opting for a black suit.
But what was the outcome of this meeting that came on the heels of Trump meeting Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska?
A Putin-Zelenskyy meet is likely
Following his talks with Zelenskyy and the European leaders, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had called Vladimir Putin to begin arranging talks between the Russian leader and Zelenskyy . The US president wrote on Truth Social that “everyone is very happy about the possibility of peace for Russia/Ukraine.”
“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” Trump wrote.
If it takes place, this would be the first meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders since Moscow’s invasion nearly three-and-a-half years ago, and comes as Trump tries to live up to his promise to quickly end the war. It will also be significant, as Putin regards Zelenskyy as an illegitimate head of state.
A Putin adviser confirmed that the American leader had spoken to his Russian counterpart for 40 minutes by phone on Monday. Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy aide, said in a statement that Putin and Trump had a “frank and very constructive” phone conversation about the meeting with Zelenskyy and the European leaders at the White House.
Later, Zelenskyy confirmed to reporters outside the White House he was “ready” for a bilateral with bitter foe Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine has led to tens of thousands of deaths.
Additionally, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also said that Putin had agreed to a bilateral meeting within the next two weeks, but there was no confirmation of a date or location.
Trump hints at security guarantees
One of the key topics discussed at Monday’s meeting between Zelenskyy, his European allies and Donald Trump was the United States’ role in security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump told Zelenskyy that the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s security but was vague on the specifics of the assistance.
When asked by reporters if US security guarantees would mean American boots on the ground, Trump didn’t 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 US president said at one point.
Trump also added that Putin said Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine.
His comments were welcomed by the European leaders, with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, saying it was “good to hear” the nations were working on “ Article Five-like security guarantees ”. For those who don’t know, Nato’s Article Five is the principle that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all of them.
The Financial Times later reported that Ukraine had undertaken to buy $100 billion of US weapons financed by Europe in return for US guarantees for its security. Zelenskyy later spoke to reporters about a $90 billion package, and said Ukraine and its allies would formalise the terms of the security guarantees within 10 days.
Ceasefire remains a point of contention
Earlier, Trump had threatened Russia and Putin with “severe consequences” if he didn’t agree to a ceasefire. However, at Monday’s meeting, Trump, it seems, has softened his stance on it, calling for both the sides to work out a final peace agreement.
“I don’t think you need a ceasefire,” said Trump, adding, “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.
“But we can work a deal where we’re working on a peace deal while they’re fighting. They have to fight. I wish they could stop, I’d like them to stop, but strategically, that could be a disadvantage for one side or the other.”
However, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Trump for a rethink. “I can’t imagine the next meeting will take place without a ceasefire,” he said, referring to a potential meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy. “So let’s work on that.”
But, Trump didn’t appear gung-ho on this idea. Moreover, even Zelenskyy did not push on his previous calls for a ceasefire to be put in place.
Clothes matter
Monday’s meeting at the Oval Office was remarkably different than the one in February between Zelenskyy and Trump. In fact, it seemed that the Ukrainian president had learnt from the past and chose to suit up this time, after being harangued for not wearing one the previous time.
The two leaders even joked about Zelenskyy’s attire this time around with Trump even saying, “I don’t believe it… I love it!” as he greeted the Ukrainian leader to the White House.
Later, even within the Oval Office, Zelenskyy’s suit took centre stage with Brian Glenn, the reporter for Real America’s Voice, who had initially questioned him on his attire last time, saying: “President Zelenskyy, you look fabulous in that suit!”
Trump joined in, saying, “I said the same thing” — and telling Zelenskyy that “that’s the one that attacked you last time”. “I remember,” responded the Ukrainian, before adding to the American reporter that “you are wearing the same suit” as six months ago.
Apart from Zelenskyy’s suit, there was also a lot of bonhomie at the meeting, something that was severely lacking last time. In fact, criticised for not being grateful to the US for help during his last meeting, Zelenskyy was profusely thankful — uttering six “thank yous” within the first few minutes of the meeting.
He also added a personal touch to the meeting by presenting the US president with a letter from his wife, Olena Zelenskaa, which was meant for the US First Lady, Melania Trump. “It’s not to you - [it’s] to your wife,” he told Trump.
Even the other European leaders made it a point to lavish praise on Trump with 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.
A united Europe
A significant highlight of Monday’s meeting was the fact that the European leaders arrived in Washington as reinforcements for Zelenskyy. And by and large, they succeeded in their visit: they made sure there was no repeat of the earlier Oval Office spat and Kyiv’s interests were broadly defended.
But as one CFR Council report stated in one report, “It’s never quite enough. And so, in the short-to-medium term, for better or worse, this war will likely go on.”
With inputs from agencies