U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to discuss a direct peace accord to end the more than three-year war in Ukraine. The meeting comes just hours after Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded in Alaska without a concrete deal.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, President Trump announced a shift in his administration’s position, now favoring a direct peace agreement over a ceasefire. “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 oftentimes do not hold up,” Trump wrote, following phone conversations with leaders of the European Union and NATO.
The meeting with Zelensky marks a significant change from previous encounters. During his last meeting with Trump in February, Zelensky was publicly reprimanded by the U.S. president and his officials. Despite this, Zelensky expressed gratitude for the new invitation and said he had a “long and substantive conversation with President Trump” after the Alaska summit.
The Russian government has largely considered the Trump-Putin talks a success. According to the Kremlin, Putin described the talks as “very frank, substantive and, in my opinion, brings us closer to the necessary decisions.”
Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Moscow, said Trump’s new stance on a peace agreement aligns with what Putin has been advocating for months.
On Saturday, Zelensky and his European allies, who have previously sought a ceasefire, welcomed the Trump-Putin talks but emphasized the need for long-term security guarantees for Kyiv. “I am grateful for the invitation,” Zelensky stated, adding that he told Trump “sanctions should be tightened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia evades an honest end to the war.”
The Ukrainian leader stressed that any peace must be real and long-lasting, not “just another pause” between Russian offensives. On X, he wrote, “Security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with the involvement of both Europe and the US,” and reiterated that all territorial issues must be decided with Ukraine’s involvement.
