Trump says that he 'doesn't think there needs to be a ceasefire' in Ukraine during Zelensky meeting

Zelensky added that the bilateral talks were "constructive" but very good. “I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump. We spoke about very sensitive points," the Ukrainian leader said.

However, Trump went on to say that he does not believe that there will be a ceasefire,

“I don't know if that's necessary, I like the ceasefire. From another standpoint, you immediately stop the killing. But I believe a peace agreement at the end of all of this is something that’s very attainable, and it can be done in the near future," he said before a multilateral meeting with the European leaders.

He had said before that he "likes the concept" of a deal, but he thinks that it would be detrimental for one side or the other.

“I like the concept of a ceasefire for one reason, because you’d stop killing people immediately, as opposed to in two weeks or one week, or whatever it takes. But we can work a deal, we’re working on a peace deal while they’re fighting.”

He also noted that while he was optimistic that another conversation with Putin and Zelensky could happen, there was also room for alternatives.

“It’s possible it might not be able to be done. On the other hand, it’s possible that it will,” Trump said. “We have to give it our best. That’s all you can do.”

After Zelensky and Trump met, the two joined the European leaders for a joint meeting, where Trump said that they would be discussing "who would be doing what" regarding security guarantees for Ukraine.

“President 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 at the start of the talks. “I’m optimistic that collectively, we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine, and I actually think there won’t be."

"We will come to a resolution today, I think, on almost everything, including probably the security,” Trump said ahead of the meeting. “I have a feeling you [Zelensky] and President Putin are going to work something out. Ultimately, this is a decision that can only be made by President Zelensky and by the people of Ukraine working also together in agreement with President Putin.”

Notably, all seven European leaders who joined stated that they supported a full ceasefire and truce, not just a peace deal.

German Chancellor Fredriech Merz said that, though the "path was open" for more serious talks, Europe wants to see a ceasefire before the next round.

"To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire, the latest from the next meeting on," he said, as per the BBC. “I can’t imagine that the next meeting will take place without a ceasefire, so let’s work on that."

Trump did not rule out the possibility that US troops could defend a potential peace deal in Ukraine, but noted that European partners would take the lead.

“They are the first line of defense, because they’re there, in Europe. But we’re going to help them out. Also, we’ll be involved."

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called Trump's security guarantees a "breakthrough" in the talks.

“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 also thank you for that,” Rutte told Trump ahead of the multilateral talks.

“We need to stop this war, to stop Russia. And we need support (from our) American and European partners,” he said, as reported by CNN.  “We supported the idea of the United States – of, personally, President Trump – to stop this war, to make a diplomatic way of finishing this war."

French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump that if trilateral talks did occur, Europe should have a seat at the table.

“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.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb were also present at the meeting.

Starmer and Stubb noted the "historic step" that Monday's meeting represented.

"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 and security in Europe,” Starmer said.

Stubb added that "in the past two weeks, we’ve probably had more progress in ending this war than we have in the past three and a half year."

This comes after Trump and Putin met in Alaska last week.

Though before Trump pushed for a fast, unilateral ceasefire, he is now saying that he prefers a peace deal.

"It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Trump posted on Truth Social after his Friday meeting with Putin. Critics noted that this stance seems more in line with the Kremlin.

Putin reportedly said that he would provide security guarantees and alter some of his positions on land to be swapped, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN on Sunday.

“We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article Five-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff said, describing Putin’s shift as “game-changing.”

Article 5 of NATO is principal to the military alliance, and states that if one member of the alliance is attacked, then members of the alliance will come to its defense.

However, Zelensky and some European officials say that Putin’s security guarantees are not strong enough.

"Our main goal is a reliable and lasting peace for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe. And it is important that the momentum of all our meetings lead to precisely this result," he wrote on X/Twitter before meeting Trump.

"Ukraine is ready for a real truce and for establishing a new security architecture. We need peace."

Von Der Leyen stated that Europe supports “Article 5-like security guarantees" for Ukraine at a joint press conference in Brussels with Zelensky. She aded that Ukraine must become "a steel porcupine, indigestible for potential invaders."

Notably, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told ABC News on Sunday that the US was not near a peace deal.

“We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remain some big areas of disagreement,” he said. “We’re not at the precipice of an agreement, we’re not at the edge of one.”

Rubio also walked back Trump's statement that there would be "very severe consequences" if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire.

"The moment the president puts the additional sanctions, that’s the end of the talks,” he said ABC News.  “You’ve basically locked in at least another year to year and a half of war and death and destruction. We may unfortunately wind up there, but we don’t want to wind up there.”

Reuters has previously reported that Putin might be willing to freeze the conflict along the front lines, provided there was a legally binding pledge not to enlarge NATO eastwards and to lift some Western sanctions.

Putin has so far voiced stringent conditions for a full ceasefire, but one compromise could be a truce in the air war. He has claimed he is open to a ceasefire, but has repeatedly said the issues of verification need to be sorted out first.

Trump previously asserted he could end the conflict in one day, though he seems to have changed his tune."I thought the easiest one would be this one," he told reporters Thursday, referring to the array of diplomatic conflicts he aims to solve. "It's actually the most difficult.”