Zelensky leaves White House unscathed as he buys more time

The optics could not have been more different this time.

Unlike the shockingly ill-tempered previous meeting in February, US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky seemed determined not to look confrontational – despite their remaining differences.

Zelensky wore a collared suit (although not of the classical variety), and Trump complimented his attire. The Ukrainian president also repeatedly said “thank you”, which must have pleased his host, too.

At his opening appearance in the Oval Office, Zelensky spoke little – or maybe he was not keen to, fearing that what he had to say was different from what Trump wanted to hear.

Differences showed later, when the US and Ukrainian presidents appeared before journalists together with European leaders.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron both said a ceasefire in Ukraine should be the next step, even though Trump had argued that it was not necessary before a more permanent solution is found.

Zelensky remained conspicuously quiet on the issue.

What we heard from the leaders suggests that their discussions behind closed doors focused on security guarantees for Ukraine and prospects for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

No details were revealed about what guarantees were discussed, or how being face-to-face in the same room with Putin will help end the war.

But following the day of talks, Zelensky described security guarantees as a necessary “starting point for ending war”.

At an earlier news conference outside the White House, he said security guarantees could include a $90bn (£67bn) deal between Kyiv and Washington to acquire US weapons, including aviation systems, anti-missile systems and other weapons he declined to disclose.

Zelensky also said the US would purchase Ukrainian drones, which would help boost domestic production of the unmanned aircraft. Though no formal agreement has been reached, Zelensky said a deal could be worked out over the next 10 days.

The Ukranian leader, however, was more willing to talk about his possible meeting with Putin, telling reporters he was ready to meet directly with his Russian counterpart, and if Moscow agreed, Trump could join the negotiations. Putin has so far resisted a direct meeting with Zelensky.

“Ukraine will never stop on the way to peace,” he told reporters, adding that no date had been set.

One issue the leaders seemed reluctant to bring up before the media were possible territorial concessions by Ukraine.

Zelensky also mentioned how he showed his US counterpart a map of Ukraine, stressing that Russia has managed to occupy less than 1% of the Ukrainian territory in the last 1,000 days. This was news to the White House, he said. And it helped swing Trump’s mood, apparently.

“I have been fighting with what is on that map,” Zelensky told reporters, adding that he pushed back on what the Oval Office map showed as Russian-captured territories.

“It isn’t possible to say this much territory has been taken over this time. These points are important.”

The Ukrainian leader seemed mostly upbeat about his latest White House appearance, describing his meeting with Trump as “warm”. His optimism, however, appeared deliberate as he sought to avoid a repeat of his last Oval Office visit and convince his American hosts to embrace the European position on ending the war.

But perhaps the key outcome of the trip was that it helped Ukraine to buy more time. The call that Trump had with Putin following his first meeting with the European leaders suggests that Russia has managed to do just the same.

Despite widespread fears, no catastrophe has happened at the summits in Alaska and Washington – at least nothing from what has been made public.

The status quo remains.