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After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, President Donald Trump touted a “very good meeting” with Ukrainian President Voldymi Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House on Monday.
Trump, who hopes to put an end to a massive bloodshed in Eastern Europe, is called the Multilateral Conference on Monday, and is “a very good, early stage in a war that has been going on for almost four years.”
In a true social post after the discussion, Trump wrote, “I met a very good person with a prominent guest.”
Here’s the top five takeaways from the President’s “Big Day” with European leaders.
1. Smile around
Monday’s summit marked a dramatic and prominent shift from the now-escalated oval office of President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in February with Zelensky.
Trump in Ukraine is spar over European leadership and key steps towards peace
US President Donald Trump responds during a meeting at the White House Oval Office gesture of Ukrainian President Voldymi Zelenki, Washington, DC, amid negotiations to end the Russian war on August 18, 2025.
During that meeting, leaders were caught up in a fierce debate over several topics, including Zelenskyy, who are said to be unaffordable for US support.
On Monday, all the tension seemed to have faded. Trump and Zelensky were all smiling all day long, and Ukrainian leaders received a warm welcome from Trump’s cabinet, including Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses.
Both Zelensky and European leaders appeared with more peace of mind with Trump all day, gaining optimistic tones. After the meeting, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen posted to X. “We are here as allies and friends for the peace of Ukraine and Europe. This is a key moment as we continue to work on Ukraine’s strong security guarantees and lasting and durable peace.”
2. Wardrobe upgrade
Another notable shift from February was Zelensky’s destruction from his trademark jumpsuit outfit to wear a suit while sitting in an oval office with Trump, even joked in the press.
Zelenskyy, who has been criticized for wearing casual outfits for meetings with world leaders, wore totally black outfits, including button-down shirts and jackets.
Trump: The Zelensky Conference is not the “end of the road” for US support to secure peace agreements
Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky will be greeted by US President Donald Trump upon his arrival at the White House Westwing in Washington, DC on August 18, 2025.
“First of all… President Zelensky, you look great in that lawsuit,” the reporter told Zelensky after sitting with Trump in the oval office.
“You look good,” the reporter said before Trump added, “I said the same thing.”
At another point in the bilateral press conference at Zelenskyy-Trump, the Ukrainian president ribed reporters saying he was wearing the same suit he had in February.
“You’re wearing the same suit. You saw, I’ve changed, you’re not,” Zelensky sniffs as both him and Trump laughed.
3. No need for stop fire
In a more substantive memo, Trump doubled his position that a ceasefire was “necessary” to mediate a permanent peace between Ukraine and Russia. He has made recent success by negotiating peace agreements between other countries around the world.
“I don’t think a ceasefire is necessary. Looking at the six deals I settled this year, they were all at war,” Trump told a news conference with Zelensky.
The Senate shows that it is ready to attack Russia with severe sanctions if the peace agreement fails
President Donald Trump and European leaders will meet at a multilateral conference at the White House on August 18, 2025. (Reuters/Alexander Drago)
“I didn’t have a ceasefire,” he continued.
At a rare moment of tension during the day, Trump clashed with German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz over the need for a ceasefire.
Speaking to Trump and other leaders, Meltz gathered around the table at a large White House meeting in large meeting, said: “To be honest, I want to see a ceasefire with updates from the next meeting.”
He told the leaders, “Let’s try to put pressure on Russia. The credibility of this effort, these efforts we are implementing today are at least a ceasefire from the beginning of serious negotiations from the next step. So I would like to emphasize this aspect.
In response, Trump shoots back that he is determined to “go directly to the peace agreement” without a ceasefire, saying, “Well, we’ll let the president. [Zelenskyy] Go and talk to the President [Putin]and we’ll see how it works. ”
NATO Executive Director says Trump speaks with Zelensky and with EU leaders: “A very successful day.”
Smoke rises on the Kiev skyline after the Russian attack on Monday, July 8, 2024.
4. United European Front
In addition to Zelensky, seven major European leaders attended the White House on Monday.
This means that Zelensky doubled on Sunday, and Ukraine would not agree to hand over either Crimea or its territory to Russia as part of the peace agreement.
“The territorial issue is so important that it should only be discussed between the trilateral countries by Ukraine and Russian leaders. [talks with] Ukraine, the US, Russia,” Zelensky said.
Trump said the US will be involved in providing security assurances to Ukraine after the war ends, but he said Europe must take much of that “burden” from now on.
“I think European countries will bear a lot of burden,” Trump said. “We’re going to help them, and we’re trying to make it very safe. We also need to discuss the possibility of territorial exchange, taking into account the current line of contact. That means war zones, front centers. It’s pretty obvious.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said he recognizes that Europe is responsible for many of the responsibilities related to various security assurances, and acknowledged that it is necessary to maintain the security of each country.
“Historical Conference”: Global Leaders unite in hopes of ending the Russian-Ukurean war
President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelenkie, German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland President Giorgia Meloni, Alexander Stubb, NATO Executive Director Mark Latte, European Attorney General Ursula Von der Leyen Pause Washington’s White House, August 18, 2025 (Alexander Drago/Reuters)
“To have this long-standing peace across Ukraine and the continent, security guarantees are necessary,” Macron said. “And the first one is clearly the Ukrainian army. For decades to come, and the second is our own commitment. We can be sure that all of us are very clear about the fact that Europeans have a considerable distribution in Ukrainian security guarantees, but their own security is clearly at risk in this situation.”
5. Putin on the line
Trump called Putin after the meeting and shared that the next step was already moving: scheduling a meeting between Zelensky and the Russian President. After that meeting, Trump said there would be a trilateral meeting between Zelensky, Putin and himself.
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US President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15, 2025, at Elmendorf Richardson’s joint base in Anchorage, Alaska, to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate for the end of the war in Ukraine.
“At the end of the meeting, I called Putin and launched a meeting arrangement between Putin and Zelensky, where it was decided. After that meeting was held, we will become myself, in addition to the two presidents,” Trump wrote.
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In another post, Trump called the summit “a big day at the White House.”
“We have never had so many European leaders here at once. Great honor for America!!!” he wrote. “Shall we see what the outcome will be?”
Diana Stancy, Emma Colton and Amanda Macias of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
Peter Pinedo is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
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