Posted on 08/16/25
| News Source: CBS News
President Donald Trump said he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday afternoon to discuss an agreement "which would end the war" between Russia and Ukraine.
The Truth Social post came about half a day after Mr. Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Mr. Trump said the meeting with Putin "went very well." He also said the meeting was followed by a "late night phone call" with Zelenskyy and other European leaders, including Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO. The call took place around 2:40 a.m. ET.
"It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump did not share any details of the agreement. Diplomatic sources told CBS News that Mr. Trump said that Putin would make some concessions, but failed to specify what that might mean.
In his first remarks since Friday's summit, Putin said the visit to Alaska was "timely and very useful" and that addressing the "root causes" of the war "should be the basis of a settlement."
"We have not had direct negotiations of this kind at this level for a long time. I repeat: there was an opportunity calmly, in detail once again to express our position," Putin said, according to a transcript of a meeting with senior Russian officials released by Kremlin. "We, of course, respect the position of the U.S. administration, which sees a need for an early cessation of hostilities. Well, we would also like to resolve all issues by peaceful means. The conversation was very frank, informative, and I think it brings us closer to the right decisions."
European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said in a statement that they had been debriefed on the meeting with Putin, and said Mr. Trump had supported security guarantees for Ukraine. The guarantees would allow Ukraine to "effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity," the statement said.
Diplomatic sources told CBS that European leaders were relieved to hear President Trump offer a U.S. security guarantee, but described the idea as vague, and it's unclear how it would work.
Mr. Trump said Zelenskyy would join him in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon to discuss the proposal.