After that Donald Trump After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, it was Volodymyr Zelensky's turn on Monday to meet the American president in Washington DC.
He has physical support with him, in the form of several European leaders.
But ahead of the meeting where all the visiting leaders will participate, Zelensky and Trump answered questions from the press alone in the Oval Office.
Trump on ceasefire
There, Zelenskyy said, among other things, that Ukraine is ready to end the war diplomatically, and thanked Trump for American support. He also said that he is ready for a trilateral meeting with Putin - something Donald Trump believes there is a"reasonable chance" of achieving.
But while peace negotiations are underway, no ceasefire is needed, according to Trump.
– I don't think a ceasefire is needed, he said, and then repeated something he wrote on Truth Social before the meeting with Zelensky: that he has previously"resolved" six wars in six months.
– If you look at the six agreements I have reached this year, they have all been at war. I know that ceasefires can be good, but I can understand, strategically, that a country does not want it. We can work on a peace agreement while they are at war.
No clear promises of security guarantees
Another issue the two presidents were asked about was security guarantees.
Ahead of the meeting, the Financial Times has written that the European leaders will demand a clear message from Donald Trump about how the US stands on this. At the press conference, he said that it"There will be a lot of help when it comes to security" but he made no concrete promises about what form it would take, saying that this would be discussed later with the other leaders.
He further said that the United States will work"with everyone" if there is a peace agreement.
– We will work with Ukraine. We will work with Russia. We will make sure it works.
Regardless of how the meeting with Zelensky and the other European leaders goes, the United States will continue to support Ukraine, according to Trump.
