US President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, in Washington. Photo: VCG

US President Donald Trump said he has begun arranging a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin after a summit with Zelensky and European leaders at the White House on Monday, according to multiple media reports.

Trump wrote on social media that he had discussed the matter with Putin during a phone call after meeting with European leaders at the White House. "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 Zelensky," Trump wrote. "After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years."

On Monday, Trump first hosted Zelensky, and then held a meeting with seven European leaders at the White House, with a focus on resolving the Ukraine crisis.

Zelensky arrived for his meeting with Trump in the Oval Office wearing an all-black suit, but no tie - months after he was derided for his lack of formal dress during his previous visit to the White House. His fashion choice was noted by members of the media who had criticized him in February, according to a report from the Independent. 

"First of all, president Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit. You look good," said MAGA reporter Brian Glenn, who last time had asked the Ukrainian leader "Do you even own a suit?" "That's the one that attacked you," Trump said to Zelensky, to which he replied with a knowing smile: "I remember." The Ukrainian president then noted to Glenn: "You are in the same suit. I changed, you have not," drawing laughter from the room, as well as Trump, said the report. 

The Independent noted that the "high-stakes meeting comes months" after the US president welcomed Zelensky into the West Wing in February and made jabs about his customary military-style attire, jokingly telling the press "he's all dressed up today." 

And it also noted that Trump's irritation during Zelensky's last visit, which descended into a shouting match, was about more than just his fashion choices. Compared with the last meeting, the Monday meeting seemingly had a "far more positive outcome," according to the report.  

According to multiple media reports, in brief opening comments Monday, Zelensky said "thank you" or "thanks" about 10 times, expressing gratitude that Trump had invited him, said The Wall Street Journal. While The Independent reported that Zelensky later told reporters that the bilateral with Trump had gone well. "I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump, very good," he said. "And it really was the best one, or, sorry, maybe the best one will be in the future."

Another detail later unveiled by some media was that a large map of Ukraine with occupied territories marked was on display in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk, opposite which the presidents were seated, according to the BBC.

While answering reporters' questions together with Zelensky, Trump said he believes Russian President Putin wants the Russia-Ukraine war to end, and he will work with Ukraine and all parties to make sure peace stays, according to a Xinhua News Agency report. 

Trump said progress is being made in resolving the war in Ukraine and there will be security guarantees that Ukraine is asking for. Zelensky said he supports the idea of finishing the war in a diplomatic way and he is ready for a trilateral meeting.

In response to a media inquiry about the recent developments in the Ukraine crisis and China's position under the current circumstances and how it views the prospects for resolving the crisis and what kind of peace agreement it hopes to see, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday that China's position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. China did not create the Ukraine crisis, nor is China a party to it. Even so, China has since day one held an objective and fair position and promoted talks for peace. 

China stands ready to, in light of the will of the parties concerned and together with the rest of the international community, continue playing a constructive role for the political settlement of the crisis, Mao said. 

At Tuesday's press conference, a reporter also asked about recent speculation that different leaders had suggested Putin and Zelensky might meet within two weeks, as Putin is expected in China in early September for the SCO summit and World War II commemorations. The reporter asked whether China see the possibility that such a meeting could take place here. 

Mao said that "we do not respond to hypothetical questions." 

In response to another question about a possible trilateral meeting between the US, Russia and Ukraine, Mao reiterated that China has always believed dialogue and negotiation provides the only viable way out of the Ukraine crisis, and support all efforts conducive to peace.  

At the Monday meeting between Trump and Zelensky, both sides struck a softer tone, with Zelensky under pressure from US-Russia coordination and battlefield realities, hinting at possible compromise, said Sun Xiuwen, an associate professor at the Institute for Central Asian Studies at Lanzhou University.

Trump may also take a pragmatic line by pushing Europe to take the lead on security guarantees and continuing support the US sales of weapons to Ukraine, the expert said. 

Sun noted that a US-Russia-Ukraine summit may be imminent. But key disputes still remain, including that Ukraine and Europe demand a ceasefire before peace talks, while Washington and Moscow want direct negotiations. Meanwhile Russia accepts NATO-style security guarantees but rejects Ukrainian membership. And the hardest issue is territorial sovereignty, as Moscow insists on holding its current occupied areas, which may be a devastating prospect for Zelensky's government, Sun said. 

European presence 

Also on Monday, European leaders - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron - arrived at the White House and took part in a multilateral meeting with Trump and Zelensky in the afternoon, according to media reports. 

A Reuters report said that European leaders, who "rushed to Washington" to back up Zelensky, urged Trump to insist that Putin agree to a ceasefire in the 3-1/2-year-old war before any talks can advance.

Trump previously backed that proposal but reversed course after meeting with Putin on Friday, instead adopting Moscow's position that any peace agreement be comprehensive. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he liked the concept of a ceasefire but the two sides could work on a peace deal while the fighting continued, Reuters reported. 

Trump interrupted his talks with the European leaders to call Putin. In a photo posted by The White House on X, Trump is speaking on the phone with Putin on Monday. A translator as well as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are also seen in the photo, according to CNN.

In his post on Truth Social, Trump said that during the meeting with the European leaders, they "discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America. Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine."

However, a BBC report said that "despite optimistic words by Trump and some more lukewarm assessments from his European partners, by Monday evening there were no concrete commitments to security guarantees or steps toward a peace deal."

European leaders rushed to Washington to avoid being sidelined but arrived with little leverage. Trump focused on pushing Ukraine toward a ceasefire, yet offered nothing new to alter the dynamics. Ukraine resents the US terms, and Europe resists hasty concessions, Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times.

Whether in trilateral or four-party talks, a breakthrough looks unlikely. Trump chooses a quick-fix approach to a complex war, but without real new factors, the stalemate will persist, Cui said.

Sun noted that the push for a US-Russia-Ukraine trilateral summit marks a diplomatic opening, but core disputes over territory, security guarantees and the sequencing of a ceasefire remain unresolved. Europe shows unity yet has little sway over the US-Russia lead, while Trump's "peace through war" approach may risk deepening Ukraine's battlefield disadvantage. Any delay or breakdown in the talks could leave Kiev facing an even harsher summer, the expert said.