US President Donald Trump is arranging a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hoping it will help bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
But, even as Trump hosted Zelenskyy, along with NATO and European leaders at the White House, Russia launched fresh attacks on Ukraine.
A peace deal appeared far from imminent.
Even though Trump said he no longer believes Ukraine “needs a ceasefire” to secure peace, European leaders in the room disagreed.
Germany’s Friedrich Merz urged Trump to “put pressure on Russia for a ceasefire,” a sentiment echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said it should be a prerequisite for any direct talks with Russia.
Despite this, Merz said a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting could take place within the next two weeks.
Zelenskyy, bolstered by Trump’s promise of US security guarantees for Ukraine, says he is ready to talk to Putin.
The largely unspoken issue, or at least one mentioned only in passing, is Russia’s demand for Ukrainian territory, an issue Zelenskyy said is “something we will leave between me and Putin.”
In this blog, we’ll focus on what happened at Monday’s meeting and how it could shape what happens next.
