Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky avoided a contentious repeat of his February meeting in the Oval Office on Monday, keeping to script and correcting his perceived shortcomings as he sat next to President Donald Trump.
In a bilateral meeting that lasted just under 30 minutes, Zelensky kept an impromptu visit to the White House on track with diplomatic exchanges that were civil and deferential. Zelensky gave Trump a letter, written for Melania Trump by his wife, and wore a military-style suit — a clothing choice meant to avoid a blowup over his dressed-down attire at their last visit.
Before the sit-down, Trump welcomed Zelensky personally, patting him on the back as the two entered the White House.
The high-stakes meeting, which came after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, marked a significant shift from their last encounter at the White House, which was cut short after Trump and Zelensky grew visibly frustrated with one another.
The pleasantries signaled progress toward brokering a peace deal that both Russia and Ukraine can accept, with Trump offering a “reasonable chance” of success if the meetings went as planned.
At another point, Trump dwelt on ballots he claimed were fraudulently mailed in the 2020 election in a detour from the Ukraine-focused meeting.
European leaders flocked to the White House to offer diplomatic backup to Zelensky. Those leaders, including NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, were set to meet with Trump later on Monday afternoon.
Here are the top six takeaways from the meetings.
Zelensky thanks Trump profusely
After the February meeting saw Zelensky unceremoniously leave the White House, the Ukrainian leader took a different tactic this go-around.
Zelensky notably thanked Trump profusely as he mentioned first lady Melania Trump’s letter to Putin asking him to end the war and stop the killing of children.
“Thank you very much for being here,” Trump said as he kicked off the bilateral meeting.
“Thanks so much, Mr. President,” Zelensky responded. “If I can, first of all, thank you for invitation, and thank you very much for your efforts, personal efforts, to stop killings and stop this war. Thank you.”
At their prior sit-down, Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky for not expressing thanks regarding Trump’s support of Ukraine.
“And using this opportunity, my thanks to your wife, first lady of the United States, she sent a letter to Putin about our children, abducted children,” Zelensky continued. “And my wife, she, first lady of Ukraine, she gave the letters. It’s not to you, (it’s) to your wife.”
The two leaders laughed at Zelensky’s quip.
Zelensky sports ‘fabulous’ suit
Zelensky’s outfit of choice during his Oval Office visit with Trump once again became a subject of conversation, with the Ukrainian president wearing an all-black suit.
The Ukrainian president’s attire was complimented by Brian Glenn, the chief White House correspondent of the conservative Real America’s Voice, who said he looked “fabulous in that suit.”
The comment from Glenn came after he previously pressed Zelensky over his attire – a long-sleeved Henley T-shirt – during his last visit to the White House, with Glenn asking him why he was not wearing a suit.
Trump interjected after Glenn’s compliment on Monday, saying he had told the Ukrainian leader the same thing, before Zelensky quipped that Glenn was in the same suit as the last time he saw him.
“I changed, you did not,” Zelensky said with a smirk.
Zelensky had previously said that he would wear a “costume after this war finishes.”
Trump says he and Putin will speak soon
After meeting with Zelensky and the EU leaders on Monday, Trump said he and Putin would speak by phone.
“I just spoke to President Putin indirectly, and we’re going to have a phone call right after these meetings today,” said Trump. “And we may or may not have a trilat. If we don’t have a trilat, then the fighting continues, and if we do, we have a good chance. I think if we have a trilat, there’s a good chance of maybe ending it. But he’s expecting my call when we’re finished with this meeting.”
The call comes after their Friday meeting in Alaska, which did not result in either a ceasefire deal or a peace deal.
Trump says ‘reasonable chance’ Ukraine war ends
The American president appeared positive in his assessment of ending the Russian-Ukraine war after more than three years of fighting.
“If everything works out well today, we’ll have a trilat,” Trump said of a possible meeting between Zelensky, Putin, and himself. “And I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.”
Before Trump met with Putin on Friday, he favored a ceasefire deal between the warring nations. But he has now changed his tune, preferring a peace deal.
“I don’t think you need a ceasefire,” Trump told reporters. “You know, if you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war. I didn’t do any ceasefires. And I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically, well, you know, one country or the other wouldn’t want it.”
Trump claimed he liked “the concept of a ceasefire” because it ends the killing.
Trump hedges on US peacekeeping force
The president signaled his willingness to consider a U.S. peacekeeping force in Ukraine in the aftermath of a potential peace deal.
“Well, we’re going to work with Ukraine. We’re going to work with everybody, and we’re going to make sure that if there’s peace, the peace is going to stay long-term,” Trump said when asked by a reporter.
“This is very long term. We’re not talking about a two-year peace, and then we end up in this mess again,” he continued. “We’re going to make sure that everything’s good. We’ll work with Russia. We’re going to work with Ukraine. We’re going to make sure it works.”
He also told reporters there could possibly be an update on sending troops “maybe later today.”
“We’re meeting with seven great leaders of great countries also, and we’ll be talking about that,” he added. “When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help. It’s going to be good.”
Despite the expectation of some security guarantees, Trump has said Ukraine would not be granted NATO membership before their Monday meeting.
“We haven’t done anything on that yet,” Trump said when asked by the Washington Examiner about not granting Ukraine NATO membership but granting them Article 5-like guarantees. “If you look back and you go back long before President Putin, it was always a statement that they would never allow Ukraine in today. So that was a statement that was made, but we haven’t discussed any of that yet. We’re going to be discussing it today, but we will give them very good protection, very good security. That’s part of it.”
Zelensky says truce needed for Ukraine to hold elections
The Ukrainian president expressed openness for Ukraine to hold elections after a peace deal is struck with Russia.
While claiming that Ukraine can’t hold elections during a war, Zelensky answered that he would be open to elections, but said that a truce is needed for the country to hold them safely.
“We need a truce, yes, everywhere – the battlefield, in the sky, and the sea to make it possible for people to do democratic, open legal elections.”
Trump played off of Zelensky’s answer, joking that if the United States was at war in 3 1/2 years, or during the 2028 election cycle, he might be able to remain in office.
“So you mean, if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections, oh, I wonder what the fake news would say,” Trump said.