Trump-Zelensky meeting, live ta3
20:08 "If everything goes well today, we will have trilateral talks," Trump said."We will work with Russia, we will work with Ukraine," he added. "As the president said, we are ready for trilateral talks," Zelensky said. When asked what security guarantees Ukraine envisions, the Ukrainian president replied that all of them.
Before the meeting began, Trump noted to reporters that he had just spoken indirectly with Putin again and that he would speak with him again after talks with Zelensky and European leaders.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that Trump is much less hostile to Zelensky this time than he was in February, when their meeting ended in a rift. Zelensky is dressed in a black suit and black shirt without a tie today. During a February Oval Office meeting that escalated into an open argument with Trump and his Vice President J. D. Vance in front of television cameras, Zelensky faced criticism that he did not appreciate all the American aid and that he did not wear a suit and tie to the meeting with the White House chief.
19:55 Trump said that Kiev will receive a lot of security assistance and that he will work with Ukraine and other interested parties to make peace lasting. According to Trump, something good can come out of Friday's meeting with Putin and at this point we can talk about some progress. However, according to the US president, there will not be an immediate ceasefire, but an agreement can be negotiated. The White House chief also wants to discuss security guarantees with Zelensky.
Zelensky said in the Oval Office that he was ready to negotiate an end to the war in a trilateral format, with Trump and Putin. He also said he was open to holding elections.
19:31 US President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Oval Office. The White House chief of staff spoke about the progress in the negotiations and said that he would work with Ukraine and Russia to end the war. According to Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he held talks in Alaska on Friday, now also wants an end to the conflict that Russia unleashed with its invasion of the neighboring country in February 2022. Zelensky thanked Trump for his efforts and emphasized that the war must end.
19:15 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House for talks with US President Donald Trump and European leaders. Before the talks, the Ukrainian president said the goal was a reliable peace for Ukraine and all of Europe. Zelensky, who is dressed in a black suit without a tie, was greeted by Trump with a handshake.
Trump welcomes Zelensky to the White House
19:00 Ukraine is ready for a new security architecture and a real ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this on the X before today's talks with US President Donald Trump and European statesmen.
"Our main goal is a reliable and lasting peace for Ukraine and all of Europe. And it is important that the dynamics of all our meetings lead to this very result. We understand that we cannot expect Putin to voluntarily abandon aggression and new attempts at conquest. Therefore, pressure must work, and joint pressure - from the United States and Europe, and from everyone in the world who respects the right to life and international order," Zelensky said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met with Trump in Alaska last Friday."Ukraine is ready for a real ceasefire and the creation of a new security architecture. We need peace," Zelensky added.
18:39 European leaders have begun arriving at the White House ahead of their meeting with US President Donald Trump. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are already there, CNN reports. A guard of honor is being held on the South Lawn of the White House to mark the visit of the leaders.
Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House at 7:15 p.m. CEST and then welcome European Union representatives, including von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary-General Rutte will also be present. The joint meeting of all is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. CEST.
They are to discuss the results of Trump's Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and the possibilities of ending the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
18:30 "I have resolved six wars in six months, including one that could have led to a nuclear catastrophe , and yet I have to read and listen to the Wall Street Journal and many others who have no clue about it, explaining to me what I am doing wrong in this BRAJGL case between Russia and Ukraine, which is Sleepy Joe Biden's war, not mine," Trump wrote on the social network.
17:46 European Council President António Costa has called a video conference of the prime ministers or presidents of the EU member states for Tuesday. They are to discuss the results of Monday's meeting between some European officials and US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Ukraine. Costa reported on the X network.
"Together with the US, the EU will continue to strive for a lasting peace that will secure key Ukrainian and European security interests," the European Council President said before the meeting at the White House. According to Costa, an online discussion of all European leaders will take place on Tuesday from 1:00 p.m.
Andrej Matišák from Pravda in ta3: Trump is dictating conditions to Kiev. Will Ukraine agree to them?
16:54 The opposition movement PS criticizes the position of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) on the summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He speaks of a betrayal of Slovakia's interests. This follows from the statement of the movement's representatives at a press conference on Monday.
"Have you seen the reactions of our government, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense Robert Kaliňák (Smer) to the as yet unconfirmed agreement and Russian demands from Alaska? Both immediately publicly sided with Russia, that is, that Russia needs to be given security guarantees and that we need to talk about what Putin called the elimination of the root causes of the conflict. In Russian diplomatic language, this means returning to before 1997. Slovakia was not in NATO at that time and we had no allied ties," pointed out the leader of the Socialist Party and a member of the National Council (NR) of the Slovak Republic, Michal Šimečka.
He claims that government members also agree with Putin's intention to focus on a comprehensive agreement, not a ceasefire in Ukraine. He referred to Kaliňák's statements on Sunday."Fico said that the most important thing of all is for the fighting to end immediately and for the killing of civilians to stop. Now that Putin is saying that it is good to go down the path of a comprehensive agreement and in the meantime he will bomb Ukrainian cities, Fico and his government have already switched to this position," he noted.
Together with the member of the PS presidency Ivan Korčok and the deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic Tomáš Valášek (PS), they criticized the prime minister for not trying to obtain an invitation to Monday's meeting of European leaders and Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky with the US president."Slovakia is completely out of this debate," said Šimečka. He assumes that the prime minister had no one to interpret the priorities or interests of the Slovak Republic."And that is the result of the isolation that this government has put us in," he added.
16:43 A political debate has erupted in Poland over why the country is not represented at the peace talks in Ukraine in Washington, which were attended by US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The dispute involved President Karol Nawrocki and his advisers, on the one hand, and government officials, including Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, on the other.
Nawrocki defended the fact that Poland is represented by the government in the so-called"coalition of the willing", and pointed out that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is inviting the leaders to the talks. He also stressed that he is planning his own trip to the US in early September, where he will meet directly with Donald Trump and will also talk about security and peace in Ukraine. The president also mentioned that he had already held two talks with Trump and European leaders last week, where he presented Poland's position on distrust of Vladimir Putin and Russia.
However, Sikorski responded that invitations to the White House are only given by the American president. He called on Nawrocki to use his personal relations with Trump for the benefit of Poland and Europe. Government spokesman Adam Szlapka added that the negotiations in Washington have the same format as previous online consultations of European leaders with the participation of Trump, where Poland was represented by President Nawrocki.
Presidential advisor Marcin Przydacz, however, claims that the issue of Poland's participation in the Washington negotiations was discussed with Minister Sikorski, but he did not show any willingness for the country to join the European delegation. He also reminded that the president has his own trip to the US planned, which will take place in early September.
16:30 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg today ahead of a closely watched meeting with US President Donald Trump and European leaders at the White House. After the meeting, the Ukrainian president reiterated that Ukraine is ready to work productively to achieve peace.
"We are ready to continue working with maximum efforts to end the war and ensure reliable security," Zelenskyy said."Russia can only be forced to make peace by force, and President Trump has this force," he stressed.
"We have to get this right. We have to make sure that there is peace, that it is lasting, fair and honest," Starmer said in a video apparently filmed on a trip to Washington and posted on the social network X.
15:40 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Washington, where he is scheduled to hold key talks with US President Donald Trump and a delegation of top European leaders. But according to an analysis by Bloomberg, he finds himself in an"existential dilemma" with two disadvantageous options: either reject a Russian peace proposal and risk Donald Trump's wrath, or accept a quick deal that could lead to the loss of territory in exchange for vague security guarantees.
14:58 European leaders will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House before their talks with US President Donald Trump on Monday. The European Union announced this.
According to the published agenda of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, it will be a"preparatory meeting" that will take place before multilateral talks with Trump. Brussels has not yet announced the exact time of the meeting or other details, AFP reported.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Zelensky at the White House at 1:15 p.m. local time (7:15 p.m. CEST). About two hours later, at 3 p.m. (9 p.m. CEST), he is scheduled to host multilateral talks with other European leaders. They are expected to arrive in Washington around noon local time, the BBC reported.
The meeting follows Trump's talks in Alaska on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine. Zelensky called for security guarantees for his country before the talks began on Monday.
The multilateral meeting is expected to be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubbs, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and von der Leyen.
12:41 German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is skeptical about the possibility of sending German troops to Ukraine as part of Western security guarantees against Russian attacks. He called such a move a"remote question."
He stressed that Berlin is primarily focused on protecting the territory of the North Atlantic Alliance. He recalled that Germany is the only European country that has a combat brigade deployed in Lithuania to strengthen the defense of NATO's eastern flank."However, this does not mean that we cannot help Ukraine in other military or technical ways," he added in the Table.Today podcast.
The minister also confirmed Germany's previous position, according to which Ukraine itself can decide on any territorial concessions to Russia."It can only take such a step if it is certain that the type of attack by Russia that it faced will not be repeated - and that requires security guarantees," he explained. Wadephul also underlined that Germany's leading role in the conflict is mainly political.
**11:04 China on Monday urged all parties involved in peace talks to quickly reach an agreement to end Russia's war in Ukraine. The statement came just ahead of planned talks in Washington, TASR reports, citing an AFP report.
"We hope that all parties and stakeholders will engage in negotiations in a timely manner and reach a just, lasting, binding and mutually acceptable peace agreement as soon as possible," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press conference.
"China supports all efforts leading to a peaceful resolution of the crisis and welcomes Russia and the United States maintaining contacts, improving relations and supporting the political process of resolving the Ukrainian crisis," spokeswoman Mao Ning added.
Beijing claims to be neutral in the Ukraine conflict, but the West has criticized it for failing to condemn Russia for its invasion. Moscow and Beijing have intensified their strategic partnership since the war began.
9:57 German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called for increased pressure on Russia, including more aid to Ukraine, during a visit to Japan on Monday. According to him, the goal is to force Moscow to make concessions that would lead to a just and lasting peace. TASR reports this, citing reports by Reuters and The Guardian.
His statement came as US President Donald Trump prepares to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The meeting in Washington follows Trump's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
"It is probably not an exaggeration to say that the whole world is looking at Washington," the German minister said at a joint press conference with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya. According to Wadephul,"solid security guarantees are crucial" because "Ukraine must be able to defend itself effectively even after a ceasefire and a peace agreement."
Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders met on Sunday to bolster Zelensky's negotiating position ahead of talks at the White House. They welcomed American considerations about security guarantees for Ukraine but stressed that Kiev must be included in any talks on territory.
7:06 Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Monday at 1:15 p.m. local time (7:15 p.m. CEST).** He will host multilateral talks with European leaders about two hours later, at 3 p.m. (9 p.m. CEST), the BBC reported. The meeting follows Trump's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday about the war in Ukraine. Before the talks, Zelensky called for security guarantees for his country.
The multilateral meeting is also expected to be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
6:38 After arriving in Washington on Monday night, Zelensky expressed hope on social media that the joint strength of Ukraine, the US and European countries would force Russia to make peace.
"We have a common desire for a speedy and reliable end to this war. And peace must be lasting. Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our east - part of Donbas - and Putin simply used it as a springboard for another attack," Zelensky wrote.
6:00 US President Donald Trump has ruled out the return of Crimea to Ukraine and Ukraine's possible accession to NATO. He made the statement on his Truth Social network on Monday night. He also called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to allow an end to the open war that Russia unleashed against Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump says Zelensky, who he will host at the White House on Monday, can end it"almost immediately." Western leaders usually address similar messages to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who unleashed aggression against the neighboring country.
"President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wants to, or he can continue the fight. Remember how it all started. He will not get back Crimea, which Obama gave him (12 years ago, without a single shot fired!), and UKRAINE WILL NOT JOIN NATO. Some things never change!!!" wrote Trump, who will host Zelensky and several other European leaders at the White House.
Monday's White House meeting will follow Friday's meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where Zelensky and the Europeans were not invited, as the two leaders seek to pressure Russia to end its four-year war with Ukraine.
B-2 Spirit bomber over Putin and Trump's heads
According to Western media sources, Putin is making the end of the war conditional on Ukraine giving up the entire Donbas, i.e. the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including its fortifications that prevent Russian forces from advancing further west. In return, he is willing to freeze the current front lines in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which the Russians occupy to a smaller extent. Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, when Democrat Barack Obama, whom Trump mentions in his post, was the US president.
Russia also opposes Ukraine's accession to NATO, among other things. But according to Trump's proxy Steve Witkoff, Putin agrees that the United States and Europe should provide Ukraine with security guarantees similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective defense.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO chief Mark Rutte have also confirmed their participation in Monday's meeting at the White House.
Trump called today a"big day" at the White House."I've never had so many European leaders here at once. It's a great honor to host them!!!" Trump also wrote on Truth Social.
