Peace in Ukraine still seems far away, but since yesterday a little less: on Monday 18 August, in fact, an important meeting was held in Washington between the US president Donald Trump and the Ukrainian premier Volodymyr Zelensky, which follows the meeting between the tycoon and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin took place last Friday 15 August regarding the possibility of a truce in the war in Ukraine.
Inside the oval study, the two leaders spoke long about a series of fundamental points to end the war in Ukraine. But the two were not alone, because the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders were also present: Giorgia Meloni, Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Friedrich Merz and Alexander Stubb, who will formalize within the next ten days of the security guarantees for Ukrainian. In simple words, these guarantees are formal commitments by the States of the European Union to defend militarily and politically the country if it were to be attacked again. It is therefore not about the entrance of Ukraine in NATO, but a “protective umbrella” that makes more risky for Russia to think of future attacks. On a practical level, states will invest billions of dollars to buy weapons from US companies to support Ukraine, including Patriot missile systems (designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles, cruise and enemy planes).
The meeting, characterized by a calm and relaxed climate – at times even playful – had a positive outcome, and Trump contacted Putin by telephone to put him up the current of what was discussed. He then publicly confirmed that he is preparing a trilateral meeting at the end of August to define a security plan for Ukraine accepted both by the Russian leader and from the Ukrainian leader, even if he has not yet made known the logistical details to the press.
The western allies, in any case, immediately clarified that they do not trust Putin, precisely because the latter proves to be determined to continue the conflict until the Ukrainian ceases in front of the requests for territorial concessions placed so far. In particular, the most skeptical leader in this regard is Emmanuel Macron, who invited the other leaders to sit at the negotiating table once he returned to Europe. Finn President Stubb followed the same line as the French leader, stating that “Putin is not reliable”, but appreciated the initiative of Trump’s phone call to the Cremlin leader.
It must be said, however, that a few hours after the call Russia attacked the city of Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine. A clear signal, which indicates that for now the Russian president is not yet ready to really discuss peace, and that perhaps he will be seriously deployed only at the end of this month.
