Trump says he has begun preparations for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

WashingtonThe meeting in Washington with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders has ended the prospect of Kiev finally being able to sit at the table of elders. Donald Trump stated in a post on Truth Social that he had begun preparations to organize a meeting between Zelensky and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The date and location remain unclear. After that first meeting, another meeting would be held, with a three-way meeting: Putin, Zelensky, and Trump. The Kremlin has yet to officially comment on the upcoming meeting.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed its opposition to sitting at the same table as Kiev, and last Friday in Alaska, Putin did not mention the trilateral meeting Trump has proposed. At Monday's meeting with the US president, the Ukrainian appeared docile, a far cry from the tense atmosphere that ended with Trump booing him six months ago. The result, then, is that Ukraine's territorial concessions will be negotiated with Russia at the table.

At the start of the day, Trump was confident that if all went well during the talks with the six European representatives, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and Zelensky, there would be a chance of scheduling a meeting with Russia. "I have a feeling you and President Putin will be able to get something done," the Republican said, addressing the Ukrainian directly. "Ultimately, this is a decision that only President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine can make, working together and in agreement with President Putin," he continued.

A Zelensky, who had changed his outfit—a black blazer and shirt, instead of military fatigues—and also his tactics, seemed open to territorial concessions. "Thanks for the map, by the way," Zelensky told Trump in front of the European leaders, referring (without saying so) to the territorial discussions they had previously had in private.

Zelensky then explained to reporters that Trump had shown him a map showing the front lines and combat zones in Ukraine, as well as the zones he is supposed to cede to Russia. Zelensky asserted that he does not fully agree with the percentage of Ukraine to be handed over. This morning, Trump had said via Truth Social that Kiev, in addition to renouncing NATO membership, should also hand over Crimea to Russia. Furthermore, in parallel, Moscow has also demanded to keep the Donbas to sign a peace agreement. This last Russian-speaking region is at the heart of what Putin calls the "root causes" of the war. Once again, Russia's demands confirm that Moscow was not thinking in terms of security but rather in terms of the borders of the dissolved USSR.

Territorial concessions to Russia are a condition. sine qua non for Washington to commit to fulfilling security guarantees for Ukraine. However, the leading role will continue to lie with Europe. "I think the European nations will shoulder a good part of the burden," Trump emphasized, although he did not rule out US involvement: "We will assist them."

The president's statements represented a significant shift from the position Washington had maintained in recent months, in which the US president had sought to distance himself from the conflict and any possibility of sending US troops to assist the peacekeepers. In April, The Pentagon announced it would withdraw 10,000 troops from southern Poland, a crucial enclave for logistical support to Ukrainian troops..

At the end of the summit, the Financial Times It gave a hint about Trump's sudden change of heart regarding security guarantees in Ukraine: Kiev will purchase, with European financing, a US arms package worth $100 billion. Meanwhile, in an interview on Fox, Rutte asserted that at no point had the possibility of sending troops to Ukrainian territory been discussed during their meeting at the White House.

Macron's assessment

Upon leaving the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron asserted that he is "not convinced that Putin also wants peace," but noted that if Russia could achieve what it wants by force, it would not be willing to negotiate. "His ultimate goal is to gain as much territory as possible to weaken Ukraine." Contrary to what Zelensky had said, the French president said that there had been no discussion among the European leaders meeting with Trump about a territory swap between Russia and Ukraine. While Trump made endless promises about a possible end to the war, the Europeans got down to business and focused their strategy on getting Washington to firmly commit to security guarantees for Ukraine. In one way or another, each of the leaders emphasized the issue.

Giorgia Meloni, who is on good terms with Trump, insisted to the Republican that the most important thing right now is security guarantees. "For peace and dialogue, we must be united to defend the security of our nation," said the Italian prime minister, who sat to the left of the American. On her other side, to her right, was Emmanuel Macron, with whom Trump also has a very good relationship. Taking advantage of his position, the French leader also insisted on the need for a ceasefire, although during the bilateral meeting with Zelensky, Trump ruled it out as a necessary condition for ending the conflict.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz went a step further and called for a ceasefire in Ukraine as a precondition for a trilateral meeting. "I can't imagine the next meeting taking place without a ceasefire," Trump concluded, although just minutes earlier he had maintained exactly the opposite: that no truce was essential to achieve peace in the Ukrainian conflict.

This Monday's meeting at the White House is a consequence of the Alaska summit, where Trump and Putin discussed the future of the war. The meeting not only ended without any agreement to end the conflict, but also resulted in a new alignment of the positions of Washington and the Kremlin. After weeks of threats of new sanctions against Russia and frustrated calls for Moscow to halt the bombing of Ukraine—"Vladimir, STOP!"—Putin once again won Trump over: the American renounced the ceasefire as a necessary condition and embraced the demands of the demands of the demands. As if that weren't enough, Putin returned to Moscow reassured that while the negotiations continued, his troops would be able to continue advancing into Ukrainian territory and would be able to consolidate employment.