Eight European leaders met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday afternoon to iron out their position on a resolution to the Ukraine war. Trump first met one-on-one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Then those two men were joined by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

Overall reactions were positive. In contrast to a stormy meeting in February, “I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump, very good,” Zelensky said. “And it really was the best one, or, sorry, maybe the best one will be in the future.” European leaders likewise praised Trump’s diplomacy with Putin. “I think 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 years,” declared Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

Atop the agenda were Western security guarantees for Ukraine against future Russian aggression. After Trump’s Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said that Russia was willing to accept such guarantees as part of a potential peace deal, and even to accept the presence of Western forces in Ukraine. Trump explained that European countries would provide a “first line of defense,” but that the U.S. would “be involved.”

Ukraine has pressed for legally binding security guarantees, after previous promises of protection were ignored during Russia’s 2014 and 2022 invasions. At least one leader, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, endorsed security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5, which considers an attack against one to be an attack against all. Without spilling details about what was discussed, Trump summarized, “We will give them very good protection, very good security.”

The reason why Ukraine seeks an ironclad security guarantee is that Vladimir Putin has demanded a land swap, in which Ukraine would surrender a highly defensible “fortress belt.” Trump and Zelensky pored over maps of Ukraine, presumably to consider land swap possibilities, but they offered no specifics. Trump only said, “We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact.”

Another priority item for Ukraine is the release of prisoners. Russia has not only captured Ukrainian soldiers during the war, but also thousands of civilians. Trump said he expected Putin to begin releasing prisoners after Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. sit down for trilateral talks.

To that point, Zelensky said Ukraine would “be happy” if Trump participated in trilateral talks. “If you both want me there, I will be there,” Trump said. The Kremlin has not yet agreed publicly to trilateral talks.

While not openly disagreeing with Trump, European leaders sometimes stressed their own concerns. With regard to a trilateral meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron offered, “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.”

European leaders also pushed for a ceasefire. “The way is open for complicated negotiations. And to be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. In fact, he added, “I can’t imagine the next meeting will take place without a ceasefire.” Trump responded vaguely, “We’ll see how that works out.”

Trump also stressed the need for a ceasefire until his Friday meeting with Putin. Now, he has pivoted to a larger game, turning his focus to a permanent peace deal. “We can work a deal where we’re working on a peace deal while they’re fighting,” he suggested. “They have to fight. I wish they could stop, I’d like them to stop, but strategically that would be a disadvantage for one side or the other.”

In the absence of a ceasefire, Russia has continued its attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets. Hours before the meeting, Russia killed at least 14 Ukrainian civilians in aerial attacks.

After the meeting, Trump said that he would communicate with Putin about the result. Likewise, Trump communicated with Zelensky and other European leaders after his Friday meeting with Putin, thus placing himself at the center of the negotiations. “He is expecting my call when we’re finished with this meeting,” Trump said.