President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sounded positive as they met at the White House on Monday as Trump pushes for an end to Russia’s war on Kyiv.
Zelenskyy is joined in Washington by a sweeping delegation of European leaders who rushed to the U.S. in support of the Ukrainian leader after being left out of talks between Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska last Friday.
The last time Zelenskyy was in the Oval Office was February, when he received a verbal lashing from President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who accused him of not being grateful enough for U.S. military assistance.
Monday’s sit-down was a much more cordial affair, with Trump and Zelenskyy sharing smiles and Zelenskyy thanking the president for his personal efforts to bring this conflict to a close.
Here are some key takeaways from the high-stakes meeting.
Trump says US will give Ukraine ‘very good protection’
President Trump on Monday said the United States will be involved in security assistance for Ukraine — a key condition for Zelenskyy in any deal to end the war — but did not elaborate on what exactly that would look like or give any specifics.
“We’re going to be discussing it today, but we will give them very good protection, very good security. That’s part of it,” Trump said.
The president declined to go as far as Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, who told CNN that Russia agreed to “Article 5-like” protections for Ukraine during Friday’s summit.
Article 5 is the agreement of collective defense among NATO nations stating an attack against one member is considered an attack against them all.
“We’ll let you know that maybe later today,” Trump said. “We’re meeting with seven great leaders of great countries also, and we’ll be talking about that. They’ll all be involved, but there’ll be a lot of — there’ll be a lot of help when it comes to security.”
“They are first line of defense because they’re there,” Trump said of Europe before adding, “But we’re going to help them. And also we’ll be involved.”
Trump walks back ceasefire demand
After previously pushing for a ceasefire and threatening severe consequences for Russia if Putin did not stop the war, President Trump appeared to back off that demand.
“I don’t think you need a ceasefire,” he said when asked about whether his previous call for a ceasefire had changed. “I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically, like, well, you know, one country or the other wouldn’t want it.”
He continued that he likes “the concept of a ceasefire for one reason, because you’d stop killing people immediately.”
Trump pushes for trilateral meeting
Trump repeatedly expressed optimism that, “We’re gonna have a lasting peace.”
Trump also continued to push for a trilateral meeting between himself, Zelenskyy and Putin — something he had hoped to set up immediately following his summit with Putin on Friday but was unsuccessful.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is “ready” for a trilateral discussion.
Asked if this is the end of the road for U.S. support for Ukraine if there is no deal made, Trump said, “It’s never the end of the road.”
“People are being killed, and we want to stop that. So, I would not say it’s the end of the road. No, I think we have a good chance of doing it,” Trump said.
Trump says he will speak with Putin after meetings
Trump said he will call Putin after his meetings Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House.
“We’re going to have a phone call right after these meetings today, and we may or may not have a trilat. And if we don’t have a trilat, then the fighting continues. And if we do, we have a good chance — I think if we have a trilat that there’s a good chance of maybe ending it,” Trump said.
“But he’s expecting my call when we’re finished with this meeting,” Trump added of Putin.
ABC News’ Meredith Delisio contributed to this report.
