Zelenskyy ready to meet Putin after 'best' meeting yet with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was willing to meet directly with his Russian counterpart to end the war.

Speaking to reporters after talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and several European leaders at the White House, Zelenskyy said he was ready for what would be his first face-to-face with Vladimir Putin since Moscow's invasion nearly three and a half years ago.

"I confirmed - and all European leaders supported me - that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin," Zelenskyy said following the summit.

Zelenskyy has come under increasing pressure to cede territory to end the grinding war, as Russia makes a series of advances.

'Best of our meetings'

Ahead of the White House meeting, Trump had pushed Ukraine to give up Crimea and abandon its goal of joining NATO - both key demands made by Putin.

But Zelenskyy stressed he had been able to present a clearer picture of the battlelines to Trump, who he met one-on-one in the Oval Office. 

"This was the best of our meetings," Zelenskyy said, according to a statement put out by his office. "I was able to show many things, even on the map, to all American colleagues regarding the situation on the battlefield."

Rather than concessions from Ukraine, the summit focused on arranging security guarantees in the event of a peace deal, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters afterwards.

Trump said the guarantees "would be provided by the various European Countries (in) coordination with the United States of America." 

Zelenskyy added that "it is important that the United States of America gives a clear signal that it will be among the countries that will assist, coordinate and also be participants in security guarantees for Ukraine."

Zelenskyy said those plans would be "formalized in some way in the next week or ten days." 

'Everyone is very happy' 

Hopes of a breakthrough rose after Trump said he had spoken by phone with Russian counterpart Putin - whom he met in Alaska last week - following a "very good" meeting with the Europeans and the Ukrainian president at the White House.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social network that "everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine."

"At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy," Trump said.

Trump said he would then hold a three-way summit with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

In Moscow, a Kremlin aide said that Putin was open to the "idea" of direct talks with Ukraine.

The Ukraine war has ground to a virtual stalemate despite a few recent Russian advances, but Trump's summit with Putin last Friday failed to produce any ceasefire.

'Breaking the deadlock'

The U.S. president meanwhile said he had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, adding that Putin had agreed to them despite ruling out Kyiv's long-held dream of joining the NATO alliance.

NATO chief Mark Rutte told reporters at the White House it was a "very successful meeting" with "the president really breaking the deadlock."

"Today was really about security guarantees, the U.S. getting more involved there, and all the details to be hammered out over the coming days," he said.

The Financial Times, citing a document seen by the newspaper, said Ukraine had undertaken to buy $100 billion of U.S. weapons financed by Europe in return for U.S. guarantees for its security.

Zelenskyy later spoke to reporters about a $90 billion package, and said Ukraine and its allies would formalize the terms of the security guarantees within 10 days.

The presence of the European leaders, however, also underscored continuing nervousness about whether Trump will pivot towards Putin as he has on a number of occasions.

French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Geneva could play host to the peace summit between Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

Speaking after he and other European leaders joined the Ukrainian president for high-stakes meetings at the White House, Macron said the announced Zelenskyy-Putin summit would be held in Europe.

"It will be (hosted by) a neutral country, maybe Switzerland - I'm pushing for Geneva - or another country," Macron said in an interview on French news channel LCI.

"The last time there were bilateral talks, they were held in Istanbul," he added, referring to the three rounds of lower-level negotiations between Russia and Ukraine held in Türkiye between May and July.