Before meeting with European partners, Trump and Zelensky held a bilateral meeting, which both evaluated positively. Zelensky reported that the main topic was security guarantees for Ukraine. «It is very important that the US sends such a strong signal that they are ready to participate in the guarantees. We had a constructive, specific meeting», — he said. He added that he showed the US president «a couple of nuances on the map», but «sensitive territorial issues» need to be discussed in a trilateral meeting with Putin, Zelensky added. Trump, in turn, stated that he is confident in holding a trilateral meeting, the question is only about the timing.
«I believe that President Putin made a very important step by agreeing that Russia will accept security guarantees for Ukraine», Trump believes. According to him, European countries will take on most of the burden of ensuring Ukraine's security, but the US will «help them».
At the meeting with European leaders, President Trump asked them to express their opinions, and they praised him for his ability to bring Russia to the negotiating table, while emphasizing that Ukraine needs security guarantees and a ceasefire to establish peace.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed the opinion that before proceeding with further negotiations, a ceasefire must be achieved, and he is now insisting on this both before Trump and his government partners in his country.
The President of France supported the idea of declaring a ceasefire before holding a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Ukraine, Russia, and the US. According to him, Ukraine should have a strong army as a security guarantee, and Europe hopes that it can rely on Trump to achieve peace.
Trump noted that in other «conflicts» he resolved, such a ceasefire did not occur. «If we can achieve a ceasefire, it will be great», — agreed the US president.
The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen spoke about «security guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5». The leader of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, made the same proposal. Europeans tried to prove that even if Ukraine is outside NATO and has no prospects of joining in the coming years, it will be treated as a member of the alliance. At the same time, they stated that these guarantees can only be effective if they have legal force and provide for specific defensive measures in case of a new Russian attack.
«President Putin also wants to find an answer», — reported Trump, noting that «in a week or two we will understand if there is a way out of this war».
Photo: The New York Times