Security guarantees a key focus as Trump meets with Zelenskyy and European leaders

Updated August 18, 2025 at 1:50 PM PDT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a delegation of Europe's top leaders pressed President Trump on the issue of security guarantees on Monday, as they met at the White House for talks on ending three-and-a-half years of war between Russia and Ukraine.

Over an afternoon of high-stakes discussions, Trump said that if Ukraine and Russia can meet for trilateral talks with the U.S., there's a "reasonable chance" of ending the war.

"We're going to work with everybody, and we're going to make sure that if there's peace, the peace is going to stay a long time," Trump said.

European countries would be the "first line of defense" in maintaining peace in the region, Trump said, but that the U.S. would "help them out."

"There'll b