Monday August 18, 2025 | WASHINGTON, DC [Reporting from VICTORIA, BC] [Posted at 1:33 pm PT Updated 2 pm & 4:22 pm]
News analysis | by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Today US President Donald Trump hosted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and seven European leaders at the White House in a multi-laterial meeting to discuss ways to accomplish peace in Ukraine.
The illegal invasion of Ukraine happened over three years ago, in February 2022. At that time, democratic nations rallied around Ukraine — mostly with the provision of military equipment — but primarily as a matter of offence against one country invading another sovereign country.
An effort to develop something like the NATO Article 5 (where an attack against one is considered an attack against all) is one of the key goals of this meeting of heads of state.
Today’s meeting was a form of pressure on Putin to lean toward peace.
Trump didn’t rule out sending US troops into Ukraine as part of security guarantees.
Trump invited each of the leaders around the table to deliver their own remarks, starting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Remarks were then delivered by Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General; Ursula von der Leyen, President, EU Commission; German Chancellor Friedrich Merz; Giorgia Meloni, Italian Prime Minister; Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister; and Alexander Stubb, President of Finland.
Motivated:
European nations are on the front line of any possible future aggression by Russia. Finland shares an 800-mile border with Russia.
Trilateral talk:
The possibility of a trialteral meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin is on the agenda for today’s meeting.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that today shows “real progress particularly on the security guarantees”, adding it’s similar to what has been discussed the the Coalition of the Willing.
“A peace agreement at the very end of this is something that is very attainable,” said Trump.
“The next steps are the most complicated ones now,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He insisted that a ceasefire should be arranged before next steps are taken by the group of national leaders that was assembled today.
“Something is changing, thanks to you,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Trump.
Phone call with Putin:
After the multi-lateral meeting in Washington today, it is reported that President Trump will have a phone call with Russian President Putin.
This is, effectively, a followup to the Alaska Summit that was a meeting of Trump and Putin last week.
Putin may need to be convinced that time is not on his side, that more war will not bring him more gain for Russia. Pushing back against Russia’s continued military effort is essential for a lasting peace to be achieved in the days, weeks or months that unfold.
So far, not a lot has been asked of Russia (certainly no land), other than to stop the fighting. But a ceasefire even now has not so far been achieved.
The longer that talks continue, the harder that the ‘won’ border becomes to Russia’s benefit. A temporary ceasefire would allow Putin to solidify his military forces. Awareness of this is likely behind the urgency of calling together major world leaders on very short notice for today’s meeting in Washington.
Trump said on a ‘hot mic’ today that he feels “Putin wants to make a deal”.
Meanwhile, as stated in political analysis on CNN today, in Russian media today it was declared that the Alaska Summit (Trump and Putin) last week was part of ‘the bigger plan is to undermine the west’.
US political analysts seem to share a concern that Putin is still being given room to decide what countries (notably Ukraine) can belong to NATO.
Canadian input:
Prime Minister Mark Carney had a virtual meeting with European leaders yesterday, ahead of today’s meeting.
Fair media coverage:
Trump today thanked the media for the ‘mostly fair’ media coverage of this issue and his presidency in the context of current events.
===== RELATED:
- Trump meets with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington (August 18, 2025)
- Carney participated in virtual meeting to support Zelenskyy heading into meeting with Trump (August 18, 2025)
- Carney supports Trump’s peace negotiation efforts to end Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine (August 16, 2025)
- Coalition of the Willing virtual meeting in support of Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin meeting (August 13, 2025)
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