Washington DC [US], August 19 : US President Donald Trump said on Monday (local time) that he had a very good meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in the Oval Office.
Trump added that he also held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and apprised him of the events unfolded in Washington.
In a post on Truth Social, he said, "I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron, of France, President Alexander Stubb, of Finland, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, of Italy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Friedrich Merz, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, in the White House, which ended in a further meeting in the Oval Office. During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America. Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine," the post read.
The post further said, "At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
The White House, too, in a statement said, "We have had a very successful day so far. We are all working for the same goal. We want to stop the killing and resolve this."
https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1957552111928897937
Zelenskyy said that the group touched upon several sensitive matters.
"I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump... it was really good. We spoke about very sensitive points," he said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte thanked Trump for his initiative to broker peace in the region.
"I really want to thank you, President of the United States, dear Donald, for the fact that you, as I said before, broke the deadlock basically with President Putin by starting the dialogue... From there, here we are today," he said.
President of Finland, Alexander Stubb noted that they have had more progress on the Russia-Ukraine war than they had in the last three-and-a-half years.
"I think in the past two weeks, we've probably had more progress in ending this war than we have in the past three-and-a-half years," he said.
In a post on X, he said, "Today, I participated in a meeting of heads of state and government from the Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine. There is a strong consensus among the Coalition countries on the need to continue supporting Ukraine. Europe and the United States are further strengthening their common position. We will continue our joint efforts with Ukraine, our European colleagues, and the United States tomorrow in Washington DC."
https://x.com/alexstubb/status/1957092261327757656
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni noted the shift in the situation.
"It is an important day -- a new phase -- after three years that we didn't see any kind of sign from the Russian side that they were willing for dialogue, so something is changing -- something has changed -- thanks to you," she said.
https://x.com/GiorgiaMeloni/status/1957542957596172615
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer thanked Trump for bringing all the bigwigs to the negotiating table.
"I think today will be seen as a very important day in recent years in relation to a conflict which has gone on for three-and-a-bit years, and so far, nobody has been able to bring it to this point -- so I thank you for that," he said.
In a post on X, Starmer said, "Ukraine's future matters to us all."
https://x.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1957533981429133769
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that after the good meeting, the path opened for far more complicated negotiations.
"This is extremely helpful that we are meeting and hearing that the two of you are having such a good meeting today ... The path is open. You opened it last Friday -- but now the way is open for complicated negotiations," he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that everyone is in favour of peace.
"Thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this meeting and for your commitment... everybody around this table is in favor of peace... this is why the idea of a trilateral meeting is very important because this is the only way to fix it," he said.
In a post on X, he said, "Alongside Ukraine, for the peace and security of Europe and France."
https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1957549905289126188
https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1957586201541484620
https://x.com/Elysee/status/1957584230982250947
President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said that stopping the killing was in the common interest.
"We had a fantastic NATO Summit... We had the largest trade deal ever -- agreed. And now, we are here to work together with you on a... lasting peace for Ukraine. Stop the killing. This is really our common interest," she said.
https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/1957553032712843775
In a post on X, she said, "We are here, as allies and friends, for peace in Ukraine and in Europe. This is an important moment, as we continue to work on strong security guarantees for Ukraine and a lasting and durable peace."