US and EU leaders have discussed future summits with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukraine security guarantees, amid a show of close Western ties.
US president Donald Trump said on Monday (18 August) in Washington he would set up a bilateral summit between Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelenskyy and Putin as a next step, followed by a trilateral one with all of them together.
French president Emmanuel Macron said EU leaders should also meet Putin, as European states would be providing peacekeeping forces if there was a deal to stop Russia's invasion.
"As a follow up, we would need a quadrilateral meeting [US-Ukraine-Russia-EU], because when we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the security of the whole European continent," Macron said.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said the diplomatic sequencing could start with a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting in the next two weeks.
"We do not know whether the Russian president has the courage to come to such a summit or not. That is why we must work to persuade him," Merz said.
They spoke to press amid six hours of talks on Monday in the White House involving the US, British, French, German, Finnish, and Italian leaders, as well as the heads of the EU Commission and Nato.
Trump even declined to rule out US boots on the ground in Ukraine as a future security guarantee when asked by a reporter.
Europe would provide the "first line of defence" Trump said, but added "we'll be involved".
"During the meeting we discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, which guarantees would be provided by the various European countries, with a coordination with the United States of America," he also said on social media.
Zelenskyy said: "Security guarantees will probably be 'unpacked' by our partners ... all of this will somehow be formalised on paper within the next week to 10 days".
The European forces were to come from a 'coalition of the willing', which included Britain, France, and Sweden, but Merz said: "It is absolutely clear that the whole of Europe should participate [in some way]".
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte also told the Fox broadcaster: "What we are discussing here is not Nato membership. What we are discussing here is Article V-type security guarantees for Ukraine".
Article V is the Nato treaty's mutual defence clause.
All 27 EU leaders will also discuss Monday's talks with Trump at a snap online summit on Tuesday called by EU Council chairman António Costa.
Trump had earlier dismayed the EU by dropping his sanctions ultimatum for a Russia ceasefire when he met with Putin in Alaska last week.
"I wish they could stop, I'd like them to stop [fighting], but strategically that could be a disadvantage for one side or the other," Trump said on Monday, as he envisaged the various summits to go ahead while Russian aggression continued on the ground.
He shook Putin's hand last week, breaking Russia's Western isolation.
But Trump love-bombed the EU and Ukrainian leaders even more in Washington on Monday.
Trump and US vice president JD Vance had infamously berated Zelenskyy at an Oval Office meeting in February for wearing combat fatigues instead of a suit.
Zelenskyy wore a black suit this time, prompting Trump to say: "You’re all dressed up ... I love it".
Trump said of Macron: "I liked him from Day One and that's unusual".
He said to Merz "where did you get that tan? I want to get that tan" and he told Finnish president Alexander Stubb: "You look better than I have ever seen you look".
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.