White House Hosts Ukrainian and European Leaders
President Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House this week to discuss a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The day's most dramatic moment came when President Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin directly from the Oval Office with the full European delegation present. The 40-minute conversation resulted in what Trump called “arrangements for a meeting” between Putin and Zelensky, potentially within the next two weeks. This would be followed by another summit including Trump himself.
Key developments from the summit include President Trump's openness to provide post-war security guarantees to Ukraine, while stopping short of putting American boots on the ground, and discussions on what the post-war map would look like.
The meeting marked a stark contrast to Zelensky's February visit, with the Ukrainian president calling it his best meeting with Trump to date.
In the days since the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has downplayed the prospect of an immediate Putin/Zelensky meeting, stating that a meeting between the two leaders could only occur after all major components of a peace agreement are worked out by diplomatic delegations, and accusing Ukraine of being inflexible in Washington talks and hindering peace progress.
And a sticking point will certainly be the nature of the security guarantees provided to Ukraine, with the Ukrainians pushing for security agreements similar to NATO’s Article 5 (which considers an attack on one member of the alliance as an attack against all), and the Russians remaining firm against NATO troops in Ukraine, making a counter-proposal for one of their own allies to be a part of the security guarantees.
President Trump said Thursday that Ukraine couldn't get the upper hand without striking targets inside Russia. Shortly after, Ukraine hit Russia’s largest oil pipeline for a second time with U.S.-made missiles. The pipeline carries Russian oil to several countries in Eastern Europe.
Despite the apparent peace overtures, the war remains as volatile as it’s ever been.
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