Arrangements being made for Putin, Zelensky to meet, says Trump

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump told President Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug 18 that the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end Russia’s war there, though the extent of any promised assistance was not immediately clear.

Mr Trump made the pledge during an extraordinary summit at the White House, where he hosted Mr Zelensky and a group of European allies, days after

Mr Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin

in Alaska.

“When it comes to security, there is going to be a lot of help,” Mr Trump told reporters, adding that European countries would be involved. “They are a first line of defence because they are there, but we will help them out.”

Mr Zelensky hailed the promise as “a major step forward”, adding that the guarantees would be “formalised on paper within the next week to 10 days”, and saying that Ukraine offered to buy about US$90 billion (S$115.6 billion) worth of US weapons. 

The tone on Aug 18 was much warmer than the disastrous Oval Office meeting in February that saw Mr Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance publicly criticise the Ukrainian leader. 

A peace deal appears far from imminent, however.

Just before the talks began, Russia’s Foreign Ministry ruled out the deployment of troops from Nato countries to help secure a peace deal, adding complications to Mr Trump’s offer.

Both Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky said they hoped the Aug 18 gathering would eventually lead to trilateral talks with Mr Putin, whose forces have been slowly grinding forward in eastern Ukraine.

In a social media post late on Aug 18, Mr Trump said he had called the Russian leader and begun arranging a meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky, to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents.

Mr Trump told European leaders that Mr Putin suggested that sequence, according to a source in the European delegation.

While the Kremlin has not publicly announced its agreement, a senior US administration official said the Putin-Zelensky meeting could take place in Hungary.

The pair will meet within the next two weeks, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The last direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Turkey in June. Mr Putin declined Mr Zelensky’s public invitation to meet him face to face there and sent a low-level delegation instead.

Ceasefire?

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in audio remarks on Telegram on Aug 18 that Mr Trump and Mr Putin had discussed “the possibility of raising the level of representatives from the Ukrainian and Russian sides... participating in the mentioned direct negotiations”.

Meanwhile, European leaders, who had rushed to Washington in support of Ukraine, urged Mr Trump to insist that Mr Putin agree to a ceasefire before any talks can advance.

Mr Trump had previously backed that proposal but reversed course after meeting Mr Putin on Aug 15, instead adopting Moscow’s position that any peace agreement be comprehensive.

Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he liked the concept of a ceasefire, but that the two sides could work on a peace deal while the fighting continued.

“I wish they could stop, I would like them to stop,” he said. “But strategically, that could be a disadvantage for one side or the other.”

Mr Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron both voiced support for a ceasefire as a prerequisite to any direct talks with Russia.

Mr Macron also said European leaders would eventually need to be included in any peace talks.

“When we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent,” he told Mr Trump.

Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky spoke in private before joining the contingent of European leaders, including the heads of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and Nato, for more than two hours of multilateral talks.

Friendly tone after February disaster

Mr Zelensky navigated Aug 18’s meeting much more successfully than his Oval Office encounter in February, which ended abruptly when

Mr Trump and Mr Vance publicly upbraided Mr Zelensky

for not being grateful enough.

In his opening remarks to the media on Aug 18, Mr Zelensky repeated his thanks at least eight times, striking a deferential tone.

Mr Zelensky also had reinforcements this time.

The European leaders travelled to Washington to demonstrate solidarity with Kyiv and push for strong security guarantees for the country in any post-war settlement.

Mr Trump greeted Mr Zelensky warmly upon his arrival outside the White House, expressing admiration for Mr Zelensky’s black suit. That was a departure from the Ukrainian leader’s typical military clothes, which media reports said irritated Mr Trump in February.

When a reporter asked Mr Trump what his message was to the people of Ukraine, he said: “We love them.”

Mr Zelensky thanked him, and Mr Trump put his hand on Mr Zelensky’s back in a show of affection before the two men went inside to the Oval Office.

Trump ups pressure

Mr Trump has pressed for a quick end to Europe’s deadliest war in 80 years, and Kyiv and its allies worry he could seek to force an agreement on Russia’s terms after the US President on Aug 15 rolled out the red carpet – literally – for Mr Putin, who faces

charges from the International Criminal Court

for war crimes, which he denies.

Russia says it is engaged in a “special military operation” in Ukraine to protect its national security, claiming Nato’s eastward expansion and Western military support for Ukraine pose existential threats.

Kyiv and its Western allies say the invasion is an imperial-style land grab.

Mr Trump has rejected claims that the Alaska summit had been a win for Mr Putin, who has faced diplomatic isolation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Both sides must compromise, according to Mr Trump’s team.

But the US President has put the burden on Mr Zelensky, saying Ukraine should give up hopes of regaining Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, or of joining the Nato military alliance.

Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Nato membership for Ukraine was not under discussion, but that there was a discussion on “Article 5”-type security guarantees for the country.

Article 5 of Nato’s founding treaty enshrines the principle of collective defence, in which an attack on any of its 32 members is considered an attack on all. Joining the Atlantic alliance is a strategic objective for Kyiv that is enshrined in its Constitution.

Mr Rutte’s comments noted that a security guarantee of that scale could be offered to Ukraine instead of Nato membership.

Mr Zelensky has already all but rejected the outline of Mr Putin’s proposals from the Alaska meeting. Those include handing over the remaining quarter of its eastern Donetsk region, which is largely controlled by Russia.

Any concession of Ukrainian territory would have to be approved by a referendum.

The war has killed or wounded more than a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts, and destroyed wide swathes of the country. REUTERS