Trump engages in discussions with Zelenskyy and European leaders following a summit with Putin
President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a delegation of European leaders at the White House on August 18, 2022. The meeting, which followed Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin a few days prior, was attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The discussions focused on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, with Trump expressing openness to a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy and Putin. Trump also mentioned the need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact in Ukraine. However, the person who supported the meeting between Trump and the Ukrainian leadership and specializes in international law and conflict resolution is not explicitly named in the provided search results.
Trump stated that he is optimistic that the European nations will take a lot of the burden and help make Ukraine very secure. He further signaled openness to security guarantees for Ukraine to prevent future aggression by Russia.
Meanwhile, Russian continued its assault on Ukraine just hours before the scheduled meeting with the European delegation, attacking the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. The youngest victim of the drone strike on Kharkiv was a little girl just 1 ½ years old, and 14 people were killed and dozens more injured in the Russian attacks. Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately killing people, particularly children.
Amidst these concerns, Mary Ellen O'Connell, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, expressed concern about the summit with Putin not addressing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. O'Connell has been calling for tough economic sanctions against Russia since 2014 and praised Trump's new sanctions on India for buying Russian oil throughout the conflict. O'Connell suggested that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), not NATO, should lead Europe to lasting peace.
Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia expressed similar concerns, stating that the discussions should focus on ending Russia's aggression and providing humanitarian aid to the affected areas.
A just peace, according to O'Connell, would require Russia to withdraw completely from Ukrainian territory and conflict prevention measures to be organized through a renewed and strengthened OSCE. This stance was echoed by Zelenskyy, who reiterated the need for Russia to withdraw its troops and end its aggression against Ukraine.
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