Trump touts successful Zelenskyy meeting and says he’s arranging one with Putin
Eli Stokols and Felicia Schwartz

President Donald Trump greets the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, on Aug. 18, 2025. | Annabelle Gordon for POLITICO

Updated: 08/18/2025 07:06 PM EDT

President Donald Trump said Monday following a remarkable day of shuttle diplomacy that arrangements were beginning for a meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine that, if successful, could be a substantial move toward ending the conflict between the two countries.

After cordial, seemingly constructive meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and seven other European leaders at the White House that focused on how to guarantee Ukraine’s future security, Trump telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to arrange a summit between the two leaders, whose countries have been at war since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

With Zelenskyy and the European leaders still at the White House and preparing to continue talks over a light dinner, Trump announced on social media that a bilateral meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin would be followed by a trilateral meeting that he would also attend. “This was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” he wrote.

Trump added that postwar security guarantees for Ukraine would be provided by several European countries, with “coordination with the United States of America.”

Trump’s willingness to play a role in solidifying Ukraine’s long-term security was a notable shift, and further evidence of how much the president’s position on the war has evolved in the nearly six months since Zelenskyy’s last visit to the White House.

But despite months of efforts by Zelenskyy and European leaders to flatter Trump into closer alignment, daylight remained. Trump broke with European allies set on a ceasefire and continued to insist that Putin, who has shown no interest in making concessions to bring about peace, was genuine in wanting to make a deal.



President Donald Trump meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Aug. 18, 2025. | Aaron Schwartz/CNP

Trump has directed his team to begin diplomacy to set the process underway. To begin figuring out the details of the security guarantees, chiefs of defense from the so-called coalition of the willing are expected to meet this week, according to three European officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading the overall security guarantees coordination effort to prepare for the trilateral, according to three people familiar with the matter.

In an interview on Fox News after the meetings, Rubio said Trump had suggested the bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky. He said it was significant that Putin agreed to it.

“The fact that Putin is saying, sure, I’ll meet with Zelenskyy — that’s a big deal,” Rubio said. So far Putin has rebuffed American calls for the two to meet one-on-one, not wanting to bolster the position of a leader he has demanded be removed. One of the European officials said it would be up to Putin to show he is serious.