Brussels – Europe and Ukraine can breathe a half-sigh of relief. Yesterday’s meeting at the White House, where Donald Trump welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky and half a dozen leaders from the Old Continent, served to reaffirm some form of unity of intent between the two sides of the Atlantic. Starting with the security guarantees for Kyiv that are not yet defined, but that should also involve Washington. There is also cautious optimism about the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Vladimir Putin. However, no one is under any illusions that the war will end any time soon.
In the end, yesterday’s meeting (18 August) at the White House went better than its participants expected, or at least the guests who came from overseas. Publicly, all of them – French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte – described the talks with host Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky as positive, emphasizing in particular the returned unity of intent between allies.
Today, important negotiations took place in Washington. We discussed many issues with President Trump. It was a long and detailed conversation, including discussions about the situation on the battlefield and our steps to bring peace closer. There were also several meetings in a… pic.twitter.com/YqkdRlyKCI
– Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) August 19, 2025
Before expanding the meeting to the other leaders, Trump and Zelensky had a face-to-face in the Oval Office, which went much better than the previous one in February. “A long and detailed conversation, including discussions on the situation on the ground and our steps to bring peace closer,” said the Ukrainian president. This time, instead of insults, the two exchanged compliments and pleasantries, joking like old friends.
Security Guarantees
Among the main topics the leaders discussed were security guarantees for Ukraine, which should deter potential new aggression by Russia. For Zelensky, this is “a fundamental issue, a starting point for ending the war.”
These guarantees currently lack a concrete form, but they should become clearer in the coming days. A video conference of the participants in the coalition of the willing is presently underway, and they are expected to meet regularly in the coming weeks to put pen to paper on “who does what.” The most sensitive issue remains sending foreign military contingents to Ukraine. On this point, Kyiv’s allies are divided, with France and the United Kingdom open to the idea, while Germany and Italy are decidedly more cautious. According to NATO chief Rutte, the issue of “boots on the ground” was not addressed during yesterday’s discussions.
However, what lifted the spirits was yet another change of tone from Trump, compared to what appeared to be a (re)alignment between Washington and Moscow after last Friday’s
meeting in Alaska, which had renewed fears of a
rift in transatlantic positions. The US will provide Ukraine with “very good protection, very good security,” the head of the US administration assured, while reiterating that “Europe is the first line of defense.” However, Uncle Sam will be in the second line. “We will help, we will be involved,” he promised – without, however, specifying how this support will materialize.
The model on which there seems to be agreement, at least in theory, is Article 5 of the NATO Charter – the 1949 Washington Treaty – which establishes, in that very clause, the principle of collective defense. In this sense, Ukraine should obtain the protection of the North Atlantic Alliance even without formally joining it. From Moscow, however, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova argued that the presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian territory constitutes an unacceptable red line, warning that it “could lead to an uncontrollable escalation of the conflict with unpredictable consequences”.
The other issues on the table
On the other hand, the tsar is reportedly open to Trump’s proposal for a bilateral Putin-Zelensky meeting, after which there should be a trilateral meeting with the tycoon. The US president spoke to his Russian counterpart on the phone for some 40 minutes (apparently in agreement with European leaders) to update him on the status of the discussions.
Diplomacies are reportedly already at work to bring the leaders of the two belligerent countries face-to-face, in what would undoubtedly be a major political success for Trump. Until now, aside from
mostly cosmetic statements, Putin has always refused to sit at the same table as Zelensky, whom he considers illegitimate, while the latter reiterated his readiness to meet the Kremlin occupant “without any conditions.”
On the other hand, there has not been much progress on two other important issues. A cold shower came concerning the ceasefire, considered by Europeans and Ukrainians as a prerequisite for starting negotiations with the Federation. Despite their insistence, Trump dismissed the opportunity for a truce in the fighting as “not necessary” for a comprehensive peace agreement.
The highly sensitive issue of territorial concessions also appears to have been left out of the discussions. In recent days, Trump had seemed to advise Zelensky to accept the definitive loss of Crimea and the entire Donbas (comprising the oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk, which the Russians only partially occupy) in exchange for the withdrawal of Moscow troops from certain areas around Sumy and Kharkiv. For Zelensky, however, territorial issues can only be addressed at a meeting at the highest level between the presidents of the two warring countries.
At 1 pm today, the Heads of State and Government of the Twenty-Seven will meet for a virtual summit convened by the President of the European Council, António Costa, to debrief on yesterday’s talks in Washington and to coordinate next steps.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
