Washington, August 19, 2025 – The Europe Today: Negotiations over key elements of a potential deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine continued Monday evening as US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and senior European officials entered a second round of closed-door discussions, media reported.
Serhii Nikiforov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s presidency, confirmed that the talks were taking place in the Oval Office in a “leaders only” format, following earlier expanded discussions held in the East Room.
The talks are expected to focus on central aspects of a prospective peace agreement, including security guarantees for Ukraine and possible territorial arrangements between Kyiv and Moscow. However, progress on these sensitive issues remains unclear.
Among the participants are UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Following the meeting, President Trump described the talks as “very good,” noting that discussions centered on security commitments for Ukraine to be provided by European countries in coordination with the United States.
“Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine. At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President (Vladimir) Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social.
He added that a trilateral meeting involving himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy was expected to follow. “This was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” he said, noting that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are coordinating with both Russia and Ukraine.
