Explainer: What did Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders discuss at White House?

The White House rarely hosts so many foreign dignitaries at once as it did on Monday, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and seven European leaders arrived to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict with U.S. President Donald Trump. 

The latest talks took place three days after the U.S. and Russian presidents met in Alaska, where progress was reportedly made but no deal was announced. 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb attended the talks following a bilateral meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy earlier in the day.

The Monday meetings at the White House mainly centered on security guarantees for Ukraine and a potential trilateral meeting between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. Disagreements still exist on some key issues, such as whether a ceasefire is needed before further negotiations.

Security guarantees for Ukraine

During his bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump was asked by the media whether U.S. troops would be included in the security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump did not give a direct answer, stating that he would meet with European leaders later to discuss the issue.

Trump said that European countries would all be involved and that Ukraine would receive significant security assistance. 

"They are the first line of defense because they're there, but we're going to help them out also. We'll be involved," Trump said, without specifying what support the United States would provide.

At a multilateral meeting among U.S., Ukrainian, and European leaders later that day, "security guarantees" were mentioned nearly 20 times, highlighting how important the issue was to all parties.

Zelenskyy said that the parties will keep discussing security guarantees and emphasized that it is very important that "the United States gives such a strong signal and is ready for security guarantees."

Several European leaders referenced NATO's Article 5 – the principle of collective defense among member states – and expressed hope to use it as a model for proposing related measures to enhance Ukraine's security guarantees. 

After the White House meetings, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had "a very good meeting" with Ukrainian and European leaders. "During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America," he said.

Zelenskyy told the media after the meetings that the details of the security guarantees will be finalized within 10 days, noting that Ukraine has proposed purchasing approximately $90 billion worth of U.S. weapons.

The Financial Times, meanwhile, reported on Monday that Ukraine has submitted a proposal to the United States to purchase $100 billion worth of American weapons, to be financed by Kiev's European partners.

Read more: Why Ukraine talks fell short of a breakthrough, but still matter

Potential trilateral meeting

Before Monday's bilateral meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president reiterated that he hopes to end the conflict with Russia through diplomatic means and said Ukraine is ready for a trilateral meeting with the leaders of the United States and Russia. Trump said he will be able to facilitate such a meeting if Monday's talks go well and believes it could offer a "reasonable chance" to end the conflict.

Trump told reporters later at the start of the multilateral meeting with Ukrainian and European leaders that the next step would be to arrange the trilateral meeting. "I just look forward to working and having a great result," he said.

Zelenskyy noted that all sensitive issues, including territorial matters, would be discussed by the three leaders during the planned meeting.

Macron said that a trilateral meeting is the only way to resolve the issue. 

He also suggested that a quadrilateral meeting might be necessary afterward. "I think, as a follow-up, we need probably a quadrilateral meeting. Because when we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent," he said.

In the social media post, Trump said that after the meetings, he called Russian President Vladimir Putin and began arranging a bilateral meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, with the location to be determined. He added that after the bilateral meeting, a trilateral meeting involving the U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian leaders would take place.

German Chancellor Merz told the media after the meetings that Putin agreed to meet Zelenskyy within the next two weeks during a phone call with Trump.

Differences remain to be solved

Differences on some key topics continued to exist between U.S. and European leaders. During the opening remarks to the media at the start of the multilateral meeting, Merz said that now the way is open for "complicated negotiations" and that all parties hope to see a ceasefire.

Merz argued that a trilateral meeting between the U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian leaders should not happen without a ceasefire. "I can't imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire," said Merz.

Trump, however, responded that while achieving a ceasefire would be ideal, it's not necessary. "We just got into negotiations," he said.

At the start of the meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump told him, "I don't think you need a ceasefire."

Territorial issues continue to be a central factor in the peace negotiations. Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday that Zelenskyy could end the conflict with Russia "almost immediately" if he chooses to. "No getting back Obama given Crimea...and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!" he wrote.

When asked by the media on Monday about whether Ukraine is prepared to "keep sending Ukrainian troops to their deaths for another couple of years" or "redraw the maps" in a peace deal, Zelenskyy did not answer directly.

He also emphasized on Monday that territorial issues will be decided between Russia and Ukraine.