They grew more apparent later, when he appeared with European leaders. Both Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz and France's President Emmanuel Macron called for a ceasefire as the next step; Trump said that wasn't necessary to eventually reach a solution. There was a conspicuous silence from Zelensky, a reflection of his wariness on the subject.
Talks on Security and Weapons
Behind closed doors, conversation is believed to have focused on security guarantees for Ukraine and a potential meeting between its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Although the contents of the security discussions were not made public, Zelensky called them an important "starting point of the end of the war."
At a separate news conference, he said that assurances could involve a $90 billion arms deal with Washington for American weapons, such as aviation systems and anti-missile defence systems. While he did not divulge details, he stressed the need for reinforcing Ukraine's defence. He also said that the US could buy drones made in Ukraine," which could in turn increase domestic production, and that a deal could be finalised in as little as 10 days.
Possible Meeting with Putin
Zelensky said he is ready to meet with Putin face to face and even floated the idea that Trump could participate if Moscow were to agree. So far, Putin has baulked at such negotiations. "Ukraine will never step foot on the way to peace," Zelensky said, although there's no date for the meeting.
A difficult topic that leaders shied away from discussing in public was any possible territorial concessions in Ukraine. Zelensky said he brought to Trump a map that he said showed Russia is now in control of less than 1% of Ukraine's land after 1,000 days of war. This disclosure changed Trump's attitude during their talks, according to the report. Zelensky pushed back on Oval Office maps that indicated otherwise, saying that the collection of accurate information was crucial.
Buying More Time for Ukraine
On the whole, Zelensky described the meeting as "warm," displaying an optimism by contrast with the chilliness of his first trip. His approach was also designed to bring the United States more into line with Europe's stance on peace efforts.
The biggest result of this trip seemed to be time — Ukraine bought breathing room as more talking goes on. That Trump backslid in a conversation with Putin after meetings with European leaders should also alarm us, because now Russia may be buying time as well. Still, fears of significant backsliding at the Alaska and Washington summits were not shown to have happened.
