Trump States Plans for Putin-Zelensky Meeting
After a phone discussion between Trump and Putin that was described as "frank," it remains to be seen if all parties are on board with such a meeting.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and numerous other European leaders at the White House for peace talks regarding the War in Ukraine. This comes after Friday's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Perhaps the most notable detail that came from the event was Trump's announcement that, after the meetings, he called Putin and began arrangement "for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky."
"I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests, President Volodymyr Zelensky, of Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron, of France, President Alexander Stubb, of Finland, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, of Italy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Friedrich Merz, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, in the White House, which ended in a further meeting in the Oval Office," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The U.S. president shared that security guarantees for Ukraine were discussed, including which countries would provide them, and that after the planned meeting with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents there will be a trilat involving President Trump.
"Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years," the Truth Social post concluded. "Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine."
During the meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz argued for a ceasefire, which Trump had already rejected after the meeting with Putin, saying that he wants a full peace agreement.
French President Emmanuel Macron also shared skepticism regarding Putin, saying he is "not convinced" that he wants peace.
Trump also said that he is willing to continue selling arms to Ukraine, with Zelensky saying that, as part of any security guarantees, Ukraine would buy $90 million worth of arms from the U.S. through Europe and the U.S. would purchase drones from Ukraine.
Previously, UOJ reported that President Donald Trump had declared his high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska a success on Friday.
