Trump predicts Ukraine security agreement with European allies

President Trump predicted Monday that the U.S. and European allies would likely reach an agreement on a security guarantee for Ukraine during their White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they seek to bring an end to Kyiv’s war with Russia.

“We will come to a resolution today, I think, on almost everything, including probably the security,” Mr. Trump said in the East Room while seated alongside Mr. Zelenskyy and seven European leaders.

“President [Vladimir] Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine. And this is one of the key points that we need to consider, and we’re going to be considering that at the table,” he said.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed up Mr. Trump’s prediction, also saying that a security agreement was possible before the world leaders leave Washington Monday evening.

“I think we could take a really important step forward today, a historic step actually could come out of this meeting in terms of security for Ukraine, security for Europe,” he said.

The Trump administration has said Mr. Putin, who met with Mr. Trump in Alaska on Friday, agreed to allow America and Europe to give Ukraine protection similar to Article 5 as a security guarantee to bring an end to the war.

Article 5 is a collective defense agreement stating that an attack against one NATO member is considered an attack against all, and all members are obligated to assist the attacked country. It is the central tenet of NATO membership, though the agreement would likely not permit Ukraine into the NATO alliance.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called the White House’s offer of a security guarantee for Ukraine a “breakthrough” when it comes to a peace deal for Ukraine.

“The fact that you have said, ‘I am willing to participate in the security guarantees’ is a big step, it’s really a breakthrough and it makes all the difference. So thank you for that,” Mr. Rutte said.

Mr. Rutte also thanked Mr. Trump for “breaking the deadlock” on Ukraine by bringing Mr. Putin to the table for peace talks.

Mr. Trump earlier Monday did not rule out sending U.S. troops to Ukraine in order to help enforce a potential peace deal. His comments came during a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.

The American president also pushed trilateral talks between Mr. Putin, Mr. Zelenskyy and himself, saying it was a matter “of if, not when.”

However, some of the European leaders pushed back on the idea of three-way talks. French President Emmanuel Macron said European leaders would need to be at the table as well.

“I think as a follow up, we would need probably a quadrilateral meeting. Because when we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent,” he said.

In addition to Mr. Rutte, Mr. Starmer and Mr. Macron, others who attended the meeting included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Several of the European leaders also urged Mr. Trump to pressure Mr. Putin to accept a ceasefire, a move that Mr. Trump had said he was abandoning after his meeting with the Russian leader.