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After the Ukraine summit, progress toward a peace deal is limited. But the Europeans have achieved one goal: With a united front, they are standing up to Trump and Putin.
Some progress has been made in the White House, although it is still not possible to talk about achieving a ceasefire and peace in Ukraine. Now Putin must declare whether he is for peace or continued fighting and whether he is ready for talks with Ukraine. This was stated by most participants in the meetings with President Donald Trump.
President Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, who was also accompanied by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, as well as the leaders of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Finland.
Warm greetings
The White House meetings were much more cordial than last time, when Trump more or less kicked Zelensky out of the White House. Trump initially praised Zelensky's simple black suit, and then began more serious talks and a constructive and very careful presentation to reporters.
Merz: No talk of territorial concessions
The atmosphere was good but progress on content appears limited. The participants discussed many different, critical issues. According to observers, Trump and Zelenskyy are said to have also reviewed maps, perhaps to discuss the front line. However, according to Chancellor Merz, territorial concessions were not discussed as a separate topic.
The concessions should not be imposed on Ukraine under any circumstances, he stressed at a press conference later. The territory claimed by Russia is roughly the size of Florida, the German government leader compared, to illustrate the situation.
Security guarantees are essential
A central theme was the so-called security guarantees. These could be similar to the mutual assistance clause of NATO's Article 5, which implies the intervention of all member states in the event of an external attack.
The guarantees are essential for Zelensky and must be credible to deter Moscow from further attacks after a possible deal. US President Trump said that America could be a participant in these guarantees, which was very important. But there is no very concrete progress here. Trump hesitating that the Europeans are on the front lines, but the Americans would support them.
Europeans see this as an important step in the right direction. Chancellor Merz welcomed it. Finnish President Stubb also said it brought the greatest progress in the last three years.
The truce
While the Ukrainian president - backed by his European partners - continues to call for a ceasefire, Trump has so far stuck to it. He says the deal can be reached even without a prior ceasefire.
"We can work on a deal while the fighting continues," he said, which is in line with the Kremlin's position and unacceptable to Europeans. Merz said this openly even before the closed-door meeting, which was the only time Trump exchanged opposing views with any of the participants, but in tones acceptable to both sides.
Trump called Putin
After the closed-door talks, Trump broke off the meeting at one point and spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone. It is not known whether this call was pre-arranged or truly spontaneous. However, Trump also wanted to discuss with Putin the progress made with Zelensky and the Europeans.
"At the conclusion of the meeting, I called President Putin and began preparations for a meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky at a location to be determined later," Trump said.
Whether this could be the next step remains to be seen in the coming days. "I have confirmed - and all European leaders have supported me - that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin," Zelensky said, after the meeting at the White House.
However, the Europeans continue to stand firmly by Zelensky and want him to prepare as best as possible for a possible trilateral meeting.
Merz, Macron and others seem to have achieved another important goal for Ukraine: They countered the dubious images of Trump and Putin in Alaska - with a well-prepared and seemingly unique appearance in Washington./DW
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