Inside Oval Office 2.0: Trump and Zelenskyy's negotiations with European leaders

Background: What Trump and Putin Discussed in Alaska

Last Friday, Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, with the war in Ukraine as the main topic of discussion. However, no agreement was reached.

The summit was arranged on extremely short notice and drew significant global attention. According to Trump, the initiative for the meeting came from Putin himself. The Russian leader flew to Alaska, where Trump gave him a warm welcome, complete with a red carpet and in breach of standard protocol.

Photo: Trump and Putin meet in Alaska (Getty Images)

The two leaders avoided speaking to the media. Although journalists managed to shout a few uncomfortable questions to Putin about the killing of Ukrainians, the Russian leader cynically claimed he "didn’t hear" them.

After the meeting, media outlets widely discussed Putin’s facial expressions. Some condemned the use of US military personnel to lay out a red carpet for him, while others circulated insider accounts of the talks.

Trump, meanwhile, reached out to Zelenskyy and European leaders, and by Saturday morning it was announced that the Ukrainian president would travel to the United States to discuss peace. Before heading to Washington, however, Zelenskyy visited European counterparts, took part in a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, and invited EU leaders to join the expanded-format talks at the White House.

Zelenskyy and EU leaders arrive in US

On the morning of August 18, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation arrived in Washington. Zelenskyy met with Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg, once again emphasizing that Ukraine was ready for peace.

A few hours before heading to the White House, Zelenskyy also coordinated positions with his European counterparts. By around 8 PM Kyiv time, the European leaders had arrived at the White House, with Zelenskyy himself arriving last.

Zelenskyy and Trump in Oval Office

Expectations for the visit strongly recalled the infamous February meeting, which went off-script and ended in a heated confrontation in the Oval Office. Media attention throughout the day highlighted those memories, with coverage even focusing on Zelenskyy’s suit. According to US outlets citing sources, Trump’s team had inquired in advance whether Zelenskyy would be wearing a suit this time.

Photo: Meeting at the White House (Getty Images)

Trump also raised the issue of Zelenskyy’s suit. During their Oval Office conversation, he pointed out the journalist who had previously criticized the Ukrainian president’s appearance. This time, however, the reporter was not confrontational and even offered an apology. Zelenskyy responded with a joke, saying that he now had a new suit, while the journalist was still wearing the same one.

First statements to media

Trump described the meeting as "very important." Zelenskyy thanked him for the invitation and handed Trump a letter, not addressed to the US president, but to his wife Melania Trump, from Olena Zelenska.

Photo: Meeting at the White House (Getty Images)

Trump said that if all went well, there could also be a trilateral meeting. The US leader stressed that he wanted a lasting peace, not just a short two-year pause, and that he wanted it immediately. He also mentioned the possibility of security guarantees for Ukraine, though not in the form of NATO membership.

He stated that the war would end, noting that Zelenskyy wanted it, Putin wanted it, and that the world was tired of war. Trump emphasized that he had already brought six wars to an end, and suggested that this one might be the most difficult. At the same time, he again blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the fact that the war in Ukraine began at all.

Trump avoided taking sides, saying that he had affection for both Ukrainians and Russians. Still, he promised Ukraine good protection, while stressing that what was needed was not a ceasefire but a full peace agreement.

He also spoke about Putin, remarking that it had not been easy for the Russian leader to travel to Alaska, and later adding that Putin was waiting for his call after the meeting.

Zelenskyy, unlike during the previous encounter, spoke only briefly. He faced fewer questions this time, one of which concerned elections in Ukraine. He once again underlined that holding elections during wartime was impossible.

Expanded meeting: Zelenskyy, Trump and European leaders

The Trump–Zelenskyy talks lasted around an hour, after which a broader meeting began. The US president invited to the White House:

• NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte,

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,

• French President Emmanuel Macron,

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz,

• Finnish President Alexander Stubb,

• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni,

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Photo: Meeting at the White House (Getty Images)

Trump opened the meeting with bold statements. He first disclosed details of his recent encounter with Putin in Alaska. On Friday, when the two leaders appeared briefly before the press, they had offered little beyond phrases such as "a good meeting" and "some progress."

This time, however, Trump said that Putin had agreed Ukraine should receive security guarantees, and that this was one of the topics on the agenda. He also noted that the possibility of a territorial exchange needed to be discussed, and expressed a desire for a trilateral meeting "as soon as possible."

Trump added that he believed a peace agreement could be reached in the near future, and suggested that by the end of the day, the sides might achieve understanding on nearly everything.

Photo: Meeting at the White House (Getty Images)

Zelenskyy, for his part, described the day’s talks with Trump as the best so far. He said that during the bilateral meeting they had discussed security guarantees designed to last for years, an issue that would also be raised in the expanded format. He stressed the importance of an "all-for-all" prisoner exchange, as well as the return of children and all civilian detainees. Zelenskyy added that sensitive matters, particularly those related to territory, would be addressed at a trilateral leaders’ meeting.

Trump, in turn, underlined that there were thousands of prisoners of war and suggested that they could be released very soon, possibly immediately. He added that another meeting would be organized following this one. According to Trump, it might take a week or two to know whether progress had been achieved or whether the fighting would continue. He emphasized that both sides wanted an agreement, which he described as good news.

Toward the end of the meeting, media outlets reported that Trump had interrupted the talks to place a call to Putin. This information has not been officially confirmed. Trump himself had mentioned several times that a call with Putin was scheduled for later in the day following the talks.

The meeting ended around midnight. However, Zelenskyy’s office said that the leaders remained at the White House, possibly to continue discussions in another format.