German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to take place within the next two weeks, foreign media reported. The news came hours after US President Donald Trump kicked off a slew of roundtable meetings with major European Union leaders at the White House, with participants including NATO Chief Mark Rutte, EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen, British PM Keir Starmer, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, and the Ukrainian president.
Everybody around this table is in favour of peace, said French President Emmanuel Macron at the high-level meetings in the White House.
Everybody around this table is in favor of peace. pic.twitter.com/F7wYi8MQ8M
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 18, 2025
The German Chancellor Scholz advised Trump to persuade Putin on a ceasefire. Trump made it clear that a ceasefire is followed by a plan for lasting peace.
Zelenskyy acknowledged receiving security assurances from the US, stating that there will soon be dialogue with Russia for the release of Ukrainian children and prisoners of war.
There is an agreement on trilateral talks among all three countries for a comprehensive resolution of the issue, he said.
The development comes days after Putin and Trump described talks between them as productive though there was no mention of a potential ceasefire in the ongoing war in Europe.
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We appreciate important signal from US, its readiness to support & be part of these guarantees: Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy took to X to stated that important discussions took place between him, the US President, and European leaders, discussing a range of subjects including
the situation on the battlefield and our steps to bring peace closer”.
“We discussed security guarantees. This is a key issue, a starting point towards ending the war. We appreciate the important signal from the United States regarding its readiness to support and be part of these guarantees. A lot of attention today was given to the return of our children, to the release of prisoners of war and civilians held by Russia. We agreed to work on this. The US President also supported a meeting at the level of leaders. Such a meeting is necessary to resolve sensitive issues,” said the Ukrainian president.
Zelenskyy also thanked Trump for the invite and for the “special format meeting”.
He also extended gratitude to Macron, Starmer, Merz, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and the chiefs of EU and NATO.
“Today was an important step, a demonstration of genuine unity between Europe and the US, he wrote.
Leaders personally came to support Ukraine: Zelenskyy after high-level meetings at White House
The leaders personally came to support Ukraine and to discuss “everything that will bring us closer to real peace, to a reliable security architecture that will protect Ukraine and all of Europe”, wrote Zelenskyy.
ALSO READ: Zelenskyy thanks US for security guarantees, calls for trilateral talks with Russia
Today, important negotiations took place in Washington. We discussed many issues with President Trump. It was a long and detailed conversation, including discussions about the situation on the battlefield and our steps to bring peace closer. There were also several meetings in a… pic.twitter.com/YqkdRlyKCI
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 19, 2025
“We continue our work, coordinating our steps with all allies who strive to end this war with dignity. I thank everyone who is helping,” Zelenskyy added.
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