Ukraine talks in Washington a step towards peace – Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders met with US President Donald Trump on Monday to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine. 

Trump called the meeting “productive” and posted on social media that it “was a very good, early step for a war that has been ongoing for almost four years.”

Leaders from France, Finland, Italy, the UK, Germany, the European Commission and NATO attended the gathering. 

The meeting follows Trump’s recent high-profile meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. Putin briefed South African President Ramaphosa on the meeting on Monday.

Putin said he was satisfied with the emerging alignment on the peace process. Despite this, the summit failed to achieve a ceasefire.

Ramaphosa claims to have highlighted the need for Putin to compromise on key issues to attain a lasting peace. 

Following the most recent meeting, Trump said that he called Putin and began arrangements for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin at a location to be confirmed. 

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

Trump said at a press briefing following the meeting that the end of the war is imminent, as both Zelensky and Putin are on board to end the conflict. “We’re going to get it ended,” he said.

Despite Trump’s optimism, no concrete commitments were made at the latest meeting with regards to a peace agreement, a ceasefire, or security guarantees from the US.

Trump backtracks on the need for a ceasefire

European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, called for a ceasefire to be in place before talks can continue. 

“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.”

This was dismissed by Trump, who claimed that he has settled six wars this year without the need for a ceasefire. 

“I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically why one country or another wouldn’t want it,” Trump said at the meeting. 

Trump said that a ceasefire will not be possible, and that fighting will continue until a peace deal has been finalised. 

He has been calling for a ceasefire agreement for months. In July, the US gave Russia two deadlines to agree to a ceasefire, both of which were unsuccessful. 

USA, Europe to guarantee protection

Trump told the Ukrainian president that the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any successful peace deal. 

He didn’t specify the extent of this assistance, but when asked if this would include US troops on the ground, he told reporters that this cannot be ruled out yet. 

“We’ll give them good protection,” he promised.  European nations, however, will be Ukraine’s first line of defense.

“They are the first line of defense because they’re there. They’re in Europe. But we’re going to help them out also. We will be involved.”

Trump said that Putin had accepted that security guarantees would be out in place for Ukraine as part of any peace deal. 

Zelensky disclosed that part of this security guarantee includes a $90 billion arms deal.

This will assist with rearming Ukraine with aviation systems, anti-missile systems, and other undisclosed weapons. 

The US has also agreed to buy Ukrainian drones, which will help Ukraine fund domestic production of the aircraft. 

Zelensky said that security guarantees will probably be finalised in the next ten days.