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LIVE: The day of meetings between Trump, Zelensky, and European leaders at the White House concludes.

Infobae

Argentina

Monday, August 18


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10:39 PM Today

Donald Trump said preparations are moving forward for a meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin

The American also detailed that the meeting with the Ukrainian and European leaders at the White House focused on security guarantees for Ukraine:"It will be provided by the various European countries, in coordination with the US."

El presidente de Estados Unidos,
U.S. President Donald Trump. REUTERS/Alexander Drago

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he has begun organizing a summit between the leaders of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to be followed by three-way talks in which he would participate.

10:33 PM Today

The day of key meetings at the White House has ended.

Meetings between President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and several European leaders concluded at the White House.

The White House clarified that Trump is not expected to appear on camera for the rest of the day.

Some European leaders were seen heading for the exit around 6 p.m. ET after meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.

10:13 PM Today

Trump said preparations for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin are moving forward.

Trump announced that he has begun arranging a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump wrote on social media this afternoon that he had discussed the matter with Putin during a phone call during meetings with European leaders at the White House.

“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin and began arranging a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump wrote. “Following that meeting, we will have a Trilat (trilateral meeting), which would include both Presidents and myself. Again, this was an excellent first step in a war that has been ongoing for almost four years.”

Trump did not specify when any of the meetings would take place.

He added that their meetings today focused on security guarantees for Ukraine, which"would be provided by the various European countries, in coordination with the United States."

9:33 PM Today

Russia rejects the possible deployment of NATO forces in Ukraine: "They are doing everything possible to prolong the bloodshed."

The Kremlin spokeswoman warned of an "uncontrollable escalation" of the conflict if the proposal discussed by the "Coalition of the Willing," promoted by the United Kingdom and France, is implemented.

La portavoz del Ministerio de
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a file photo. (EFE/Sergei Ilnitsky)

Russia on Monday expressed its strongest rejection of the possible deployment of NATO forces in Ukraine once a ceasefirehas been reached, a proposal discussed on Sunday during the meeting of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing”, co-chaired by the leaders of the United Kingdom and France.

9:24 PM Today

Trump spoke with Putin

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueEl presidente de Estados Unidos,

White House sources confirmed to Infobae that the US president spoke this afternoon with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. It was not immediately clear what the conversation was about, but it occurred while Trump was holding a meeting with Zelensky and European leaders about the future of the war in Ukraine.

After the conversation, Trump met again with his counterparts from Ukraine and European powers, reported CNN, Reuters, AFP and The Guardian.

The Kremlin confirms that Trump and Putin spoke by phone. The conversation lasted 40 minutes and was frank and quite constructive, according to Putin's advisor, Yuri Ushakov.

9:19 PM Today

The meeting at the White House ended, but negotiations continue.

The White House meeting between President Donald Trump and European leaders has ended, but the leaders remain at the White House to continue negotiations, possibly in a different format, said Serhiy Nykyforov, spokesman for President Volodymyr Zelensky.

8:41 PM Today

Von der Leyen calls for all Ukrainian children to be returned to their families.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; Finnish President Alexander Stubb; NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte; and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. REUTERS/Alexander DragoEl presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski;

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen argued on Monday that "all Ukrainian children must be returned," referring to minors separated from their parents and grandparents during the war and whom Russia wants to give up for adoption, without allowing their families to recover them.

Von der Leyen stated that this"should be one of the main priorities" of the peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia during a meeting at the White House with US President Donald Trump, whom she thanked for mentioning the importance of the issue; NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; and the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Italy.

8:40 PM Today

Meloni says guarantees for Ukraine will be modeled on NATO's Article 5.

Trump speaks alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. REUTERS/Al DragoTrump habla junto a la

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated this Monday that the security guarantees for Ukraine being negotiated by the United States and its European partners will be modeled on NATO's Article 5, which establishes the principle of mutual defense among its members.

At the start of his meeting at the White House with US President Donald Trump and European and NATO leaders, Meloni recalled that they would discuss"security guarantees, how to ensure this doesn't happen again, which is the precondition for any kind of peace."

"I'm glad we're going to debate this. I'm glad we're starting from a proposal that is, let's say, the model of Article 5, which was originally Italian," Meloni said.

The Italian Prime Minister was referring to the NATO article that stipulates that if an ally is the victim of an armed attack, all other members of the Alliance will consider it an offensive against them and will take measures to assist the attacked ally.

8:21 PM Today

Trump said that"in one or two weeks" we will know if there is a solution to the war in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that it will take"a week or two" to know whether there are any chances of achieving peace in Ukraine, suggesting that the president will set one of his usual deadlines to get kyiv and Moscow to the table and reach a peace agreement.

In a short while, in a week or two, we’ll know whether we resolve this or whether this horrific fighting continues, and we have to continue to do everything we can to stop it,” Trump said during the meeting with Zelensky and the leaders of NATO, the European Union, Germany, France, Finland, Italy and the United Kingdom.

7:48 PM Today

Merz calls for a ceasefire following the trilateral negotiations between Zelensky, Putin, and Trump.

Friedrich Merz. REUTERS/Al Drago
Friedrich Merz. REUTERS/Al Drago

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz insisted on Monday that a ceasefire be declared in Ukraine at least as of the planned trilateral summit between the presidents of the United States, Ukraine, and Russia.

"At the latest from the next meeting, I can't imagine there will be another meeting (afterwards) without a ceasefire. So let's work on that and try to put pressure on Russia," Merz said.

"Because the credibility of these efforts, the efforts we are undertaking today, depend on a ceasefire, at least from the start of serious negotiations, from the next step," the foreign minister added.

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