U.S. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the White Home, amid negotiations to finish the Russian battle in Ukraine, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
On the face of it, talks on Monday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders went effectively.
The U.S. and Ukrainian leaders have been pictured trying jovial and smiling collectively — a far cry from the extraordinary shouting match and public humiliation inflicted on Zelenskyy throughout his final journey to the White Home in February.
Monday’s talks, which concerned a raft of European leaders, appeared to make progress towards ending the protracted battle between Russia and Ukraine, with Trump saying a gathering between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy could be organized, adopted by a trilateral assembly that he would be a part of.
Essentially the most vital growth end result for Kyiv and Europe, nevertheless, was Trump’s assertion that safety ensures for Ukraine could be “supplied” by European nations in “coordination with the U.S.”
Describing that as a “main step ahead,” Zelenskyy mentioned later that the bundle of safety ensures for Ukraine — extremely coveted by Kyiv’s management and seen as a deterrent to future Russian aggression — will embrace a large buy of American weapons, with financing reportedly supported by Europe. The settlement could be “formalized on paper throughout the subsequent week to 10 days,” he mentioned.
What safety ensures?
As for what the safety ensures may embrace, the element remains to be scant. Trump commented at a post-talks press convention that Europe would “take a variety of the burden” for these, however mentioned the U.S. would assist and would make it “very safe.”
In any case, safety ensures doubtless imply that Europe, and the so-called “Coalition of the Keen” of nations providing to supervise a peace deal, is on the hook to satisfy what they’ve beforehand promised.
French President Emmanuel Macron hinted Tuesday that the “first safety assure we’re engaged on — and it’s a very powerful — is a robust Ukrainian military, composed of a number of hundred thousand males, effectively geared up, with protection programs and better requirements.”
“The second is to have reassurance forces, the British, the French, the Germans, the Turks, and others prepared to hold out these operations — not on the entrance line, not in a provocative means, however reassurance operations within the air, at sea, and on land. The purpose is to ship a strategic sign: peace in Ukraine can be our concern,” he advised French broadcaster TF1-LCI, in feedback translated by NBC Information.
Jaroslava Barbieri, analysis fellow at Chatham Home, advised CNBC Tuesday that the general temper from the talks on Monday was one in every of “cautious optimism,” however there are numerous unknowns.
“Nevertheless, we now have to say that the Kremlin’s maximalist calls for on Ukraine haven’t modified and so there’s nonetheless a variety of uncertainties in regards to the safety ensures, the main points, who’s going to be doing what, if there are any troop deployments then the place will they be stationed and for the way lengthy, which nations might be contributing?” she requested.
Obstacles to peace
European leaders have voiced misgivings over the shortage of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine earlier than a peace deal is negotiated, however they appear prepared to acquiesce, for now, with the top purpose of peace and Ukraine and Europe’s safety in thoughts.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s former overseas minister, advised CNBC Tuesday that Europe nonetheless gave the impression to be struggling to be heard, saying the bloc had not but discovered its power and “capability to create leverage.”
“What got here out of the assembly yesterday was that Europe was asking the U.S. yesterday to proceed its help, to ask for a ceasefire, to help any stationing of troops, after which a number of the leaders have been even saying, ‘Nicely, a number of the Ukrainian territories is likely to be misplaced, however that is a actuality.’ Nicely, that does not sound like Europe discovering it is power,” he mentioned.
“It is extra like Europe agreeing that, ‘we’re in a really weak place and we now have to please President Trump as a lot as we will and we now have nothing to placed on the desk’,” he famous.
What’s extra, it is unclear whether or not the Kremlin will even comply with direct talks with Zelenskyy. Putin’s presidential aide Yuri Ushakov acknowledged Monday that Trump and Putin had mentioned “that it might be obligatory to check the opportunity of elevating the extent of representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian sides,” however that no agency resolution was made.
The proposed future summits between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy would preserve a course of in the direction of a potential decision of the battle alive, however it might nonetheless observe the Russian script of a no-ceasefire situation, Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Financial institution, cautioned.
“Putin might already set troublesome circumstances for a gathering with Zelenskyy. And in a gathering with Zelenskyy, Putin’s main purpose could also be to pin the blame for any failure on Zelenskyy as a substitute of agreeing to a truce or a ultimate deal. The end result stays very unsure,” he famous.