Donald Trump has said that meetings with European leaders could pave the way for three-way talks between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and the US amid his drive to end the fighting in eastern Europe.
The US president is hosting several European leaders at the White House on Monday, including the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside Mr Zelensky, Mr Trump said he would phone the Russian president after the talks.
“I think if everything works out well today we’ll have a trilat, and I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that,” the US president said.
He later added: “If we don’t have a trilat, then the fighting continues.”
Vladimir Putin, who Mr Trump met on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, is set to receive a phone call once the talks have “finished”, the president said.
“We’re going to have a phone call right after these meetings today and we may or may not have a trilat.”
Asked about “Nato-like protection” for Ukraine, Mr Trump replied: “I don’t know if you define it that way, but Nato-like? I mean, we’re going to give, we have people waiting in another room right now, they’re all here, from Europe.
“Biggest people in Europe.
“And they want to give protection, they feel very strongly about it, and we’ll help them out with that.”
Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff had suggested measures similar to Nato’s article five mutual defence provision – that an attack on one member is an attack on the entire bloc – could be offered by the US without Kyiv joining the alliance.
The president appeared to rule out a ceasefire in his meeting with Mr Zelensky, when he said: “I don’t think you need a ceasefire.”
During multilateral talks later, Mr Trump said: “All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace.”
He repeated his claim that a ceasefire might not be “necessary” and added: “I like the ceasefire from another standpoint – you immediately stop the killing – but I believe a peace agreement at the end of all of this is something that’s very attainable and it can be done in the near future.”
The Ukrainian president described the talks as “really good”, saying they had been “the best” so far.
He continued: “We are very happy with the president that all the leaders are here and security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you and on those leaders who are with us in our hearts.”
Mr Zelensky wore a black shirt with buttons and a black blazer to the meeting at the White House.
His attire appeared to become a point of irritation for Mr Trump during a previous meeting in February, when he was wearing a black polo bearing the Ukrainian coat of arms, and the US president said: “He’s all dressed up today.”
In their latest meeting, Mr Trump indicated he agreed with a reporter who described Mr Zelensky as looking “fabulous in that suit”.
Mr Zelensky earlier said he wanted to thank first lady of the United States Melania Trump, who on Friday penned a plea to Mr Putin, imploring him to protect the “innocence” of children.
“Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all – so that every soul may wake to peace and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded,” she wrote.
Mr Zelensky presented Mr Trump with a letter from his wife.
Sir Keir, who met with Mr Zelensky and several other European leaders on Monday before arriving at the White House, described potential trilateral talks as a “sensible next step” amid multilateral efforts to secure peace in Ukraine.
He said: “We all want peace. The war in Ukraine’s had a huge impact, particularly on the Ukrainians who’ve borne the brunt of it, but it’s also had an impact on Europe and on the United Kingdom.
“There’s not a family or community that hasn’t been affected.
“When we talk about security, we’re talking about the security not just of Ukraine, we’re talking about the security of Europe and the United Kingdom as well, which is why this is such an important issue.”
The Prime Minister sat next to Mr Macron during multilateral talks and Mr Trump introduced him to delegates as a “friend” who was “doing really well” in office.
Sir Keir told Mr Trump: “Your indication of security guarantees, of some sort of article five-style guarantees, fits with what we’ve been doing with the coalition of the willing which we started some months ago, bringing countries together and showing that we were prepared to step up to the plate when it came to security.
“With you coming alongside, the US alongside, what we’ve already developed, I think we could take a really important step forward today – a historic step, actually, could come out of this meeting in terms of security for Ukraine and security in Europe.”
He added: “I also feel that we can make real progress towards a just and lasting outcome.
“Obviously, that has to involve Ukraine and a trilateral meeting seems the sensible next step.
“So, thank you for being prepared to take that forward, because I think if we can ensure that that is the progress out of this meeting – both security guarantees and some sort of progress on (a) trilateral meeting of some sort to bring some of the difficult issues to a head – then I think today will be seen as a very important day in recent years.”
