Trump tells Zelensky US would help with Ukraine's security in a peace deal

WASHINGTON, August 19 ------ US President Donald Trump told President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war there, though the extent of any assistance was not immediately clear.

Trump made the pledge during an extraordinary summit at the White House, where he hosted Zelensky and a group of European allies days after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and months after a disastrous Oval Office meeting that saw Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly criticize the Ukrainian leader. A peace deal appeared far from imminent, however. Just before the talks began, Russia's Foreign Ministry ruled out the deployment of troops from NATO countries to help secure a peace deal, adding complications to Trump's offer.

Both Trump and Zelensky said they hoped Monday's gathering would eventually lead to three-way talks with Putin. The Kremlin has not yet publicly accepted such a meeting, and it remains to be seen whether Putin, whose forces have been slowly grinding forward in eastern Ukraine, is prepared to sit down with Zelensky or make meaningful concessions.

In a social media post late on Monday, Trump said he had called Putin and begun arranging a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents. A source from the European delegation said Trump had told European leaders that Putin suggested he meet with Zelensky directly first. The last direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Turkey in June. Putin declined Zelensky's public invitation to meet him face-to-face there and sent a low-level delegation instead.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in audio remarks on Telegram on Monday that Trump and Putin had discussed "the possibility of raising the level of representatives from the Ukrainian and Russian sides — that is, those representatives participating in the mentioned direct negotiations."

Source: gmanetwork.com