Transcript: White House Meeting of Trump and European "Leaders"

The full transcript of the press conference held on August 18 at the White House between Trump, Zelenskyy, Starmer, Macron, Meloni, Merz, Stubb, Rutte, and von der Leyen.

On August 18, Donald Trump convened a meeting at the White House that was originally supposed to be between him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but it turned into a negotiation with the entire “Coalition of the Willing”—a term they themselves used, underlining Europe’s stubborn refusal to see anything wrong with their decades of warmongering.

The meeting was an extraordinary show of submissiveness on the part of the Europeans and a show of force by the US president, who addressed them much as he does his own cabinet and staff: handing out the word, praising them for their “good jobs,” and generally conducting the session like a boardroom meeting as chair and CEO. On the other side, the Europeans heaped praise on the US president and pretended that it was his efforts that had finally brought the Russians to the negotiating table—all while insisting that only security guarantees and an immediate cease-fire could provide the way forward. Quite stunning.

The strangest aspect of this meeting was, without doubt, the presence of the President of Finland, whom Mr. Trump almost forgot about twice. In the end, Stubb himself had to address the issue of his presence, emphasizing that his country shares a long border with Russia and had “found a solution in 1944,” and therefore would “find a solution in 2025 to end Russia’s war of aggression.” If we take Finland’s de facto capitulation (an armistice) of September 1944 and subsequent neutralization in the Cold War as a model, we are indeed looking at a possible nearing end to the Ukraine war. One that will be packaged as a negotiated settlement—but on Russian terms.

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(Source: White House, Video attached at end of Article)

Donald Trump

Please, come on in. Do you guys want to take some questions or anything? You feel anything?

Hi, Mark. Yeah. Well, thank you very much. It’s a great honor to have you here. A special place, the White House is. Special. No matter where you’re from, it represents so much, and it really is beautiful. And thank you for all of the wonderful things that took place today. We’ve had a very successful day thus far — important discussions as we work to end the killing and stop the war in Ukraine.

We’re all working for the same goal. Very simple goal. We want to stop the killing, get this settled. I’ve just had the honor of being with President Zelenskyy, and all of the discussions that we’ve had — we’ve covered a lot of territory. I spoke indirectly with President Putin today. We’re gonna call President Putin right after this meeting. I’m sure we’re gonna have a solid meeting, a good meeting, maybe a great meeting, and we’re gonna try and work out a trilat after that and see if we can get it finished, put this to sleep.

Because this is… not since the Second World War has there been anything like this.

So I’m honored to welcome NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who’s a great gentleman, great, great political leader in Europe generally. But now he is NATO Secretary General, and you’re doing a fantastic job. Thank you very much, Mark.

Prime Minister Starmer of the United Kingdom, our friend, and my friend — doing really well, and people like him a lot. You all like him.

Everyone knows President Macron of France, who’s been with me from the beginning. One of the first people I met as a foreign dignitary. I liked him from day one, and I like him even more now. That’s pretty good. That’s unusual. A pretty unusual thing.

Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, who’s really a great leader and an inspiration over there. She’s served now, even though she’s a very young person, she’s served there for a long period of time relative to others. They don’t last very long; you’ve lasted a long time. You’re going to be there a long time.

Chancellor Merz of Germany, who is a very strong person and a very strong leader and very highly respected in Germany. And he’s my friend, and it’s an honor to have him as my friend. Thank you very much. Very good. You look great with your tan. Where’d you get that tan? I want to get a tan like that. That’s true.

President Stubb of Finland. You look better than I’ve ever seen you look. But you’ve done a great job, and we wanted to have you here because you’re somebody that we all respect, and you’ve had a lot to do with the success, I think, in the potential success. Thank you very much for being here. We appreciate it.

And the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who is somebody that we just made a big deal with — with all of those countries. I don’t know. I think you might be more powerful than all these guys at this table, I don’t know. But we had a great negotiation, and you’re respected all over the world, so I want to thank you very much for being here. It’s a great honor to have you.

The Alaska Summit reinforced my belief that while difficult, peace is within reach. I believe that in a very significant step, President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine. This is one of the key points that we need to consider, and we’re going to be considering that at the table.

Also, who will do what, essentially. I’m optimistic that collectively, we can reach an agreement that would deter future aggression against Ukraine. And I actually think there won’t be — I think that’s overrated, largely overrated. But we’re gonna find out.

I think that the European nations are gonna take a lot of the burden. We’re gonna help them, and we’re gonna make it very secure.

We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taken into consideration the current line of contact. That means the war zone, the war line center. Pretty obvious. Very sad actually, to look at them, and negotiating positions.

President Putin also… you have President Ukraine, who you just met a little while ago. We’re gonna try and get a three-party meeting, maybe as soon as we can. I have a feeling you and President Putin are gonna work something out. Ultimately, this is a decision that can only be made by President Zelenskyy and by the people of Ukraine, working also together in agreement with President Putin. And I just think very good things are going to come of it.

So I hope we have a good meeting. If we can have a good meeting, I’ll set up a meeting with President Putin. If you’d like, I’ll go to that meeting. Not that I want to do that, but I will do that because we want to save a lot of people from dying. We’ve got to save them.

Five thousand, six thousand, seven thousand people — sometimes a week. All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace. Maybe something like that could happen. As of this moment, it’s not happening. But President Zelenskyy and President Putin can talk a little bit more about that.

You know, in the six or so wars that we stopped, we haven’t had a ceasefire. I don’t know that it’s necessary. You can do it through the war. But I like the ceasefire from another standpoint: you immediately stop the killing.

But I believe a peace agreement at the end of all this is something very attainable. It can be done in the near future. With all of the wars that I got involved in, we only have this one left. Of course, as I walk out the door, they’ll probably be a new one starting, and I’ll get that stopped too. But I thought this was gonna be one of the easier ones. It’s actually one of the most difficult. Very complex.

The next step would be for a trilateral meeting, and that would be worked out. I just look forward to working and having a great result. We’re gonna spend a lot of time today talking about it, and we’re really honored you guys came over. These are the heads of major countries, respected all over Europe. They speak for, largely, the other countries of Europe.

We will come to a resolution today, I think, on almost everything — including probably the security.

And that’s pretty much the story. I’d like to say, Mr. President, would you like to say something? You have the media, if you want, you could come over and you could stand, you could use mine, or you could just turn around. Whichever you feel comfortable with.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Thank you so much. I can speak without microphone.

Thank you so much. I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump. Very good. And it really was the best one — or sorry, maybe the best one will be in the future. But it was really good.

We spoke about very sensitive points. The first one is security guarantees, and we are very happy with President that all the leaders are here. Security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you, and on those leaders who are with us in our hearts. They have been online before yesterday, and said so. A lot of countries on the side of Ukraine, our people, and all of us want to finish this war, stop Russia and stop this war.

We spoke about it, and we will speak more about security guarantees. This is very important — that the United States gives such strong signal and is ready for security guarantees.

The second point — or maybe the first — humanitarian direction: very important to exchange all the prisoners. And I think that President will help. I was very thankful to your wife again, Mr. President, for the letter about our abducted children. I hope that really, it can be historical for the people, to bring kids back to the families and be happy to their families.

Yes, this is so, so important, and I’m happy that we discussed this track with President Trump. I hope that we will find decisions.

And then, what is very important, that all the sensitive things — territorial, etc. — we will discuss on the level of leaders during trilateral meeting. President Trump will try to organize such meeting. He said that he will come or not come. Ukraine will be happy if you will disappear, won’t be there, I will be there. Thank you.

And I think this is very important: yes, so security guarantees, bring kids back, and all our people, not only warriors. First of all warriors, and all the civilians. During war a lot of people in prison, so we need them back. And guarantees which will work for the years. We spoke about it. I showed to President a lot of details on the battlefield, on the map.

Donald Trump

Thank you so much. Thank you for the map, by the way. Good map. It was great. Yeah. I’m thinking how to take it back.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Well, we’ll get you. No, no, no.

I think we had a constructive, specific meeting, and I’m very thankful to all the leaders who are here. You help a lot. We are happy that we have such big unity today.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Donald Trump

Thank you very much. Mr. President.

I think you’ll see that President Putin really would like to do something else. I think when we set that up, when we do — I think it’s going to be when, not if — I think you’re going to see some very positive moves.

I know there’s over a thousand prisoners, and I know they’re going to release them. Maybe they’re gonna release them very soon, like, immediately. Which I think is great. We’re going to set that up today after this meeting.

So, very good. Great remarks. I appreciate it.

Mark, as head of NATO, maybe you can say a few words?

Mark Rutte

Yes, I will.

I really want to thank you, President of the United States, dear Donald, for the fact that you, as I said before, broke the deadlock, basically. With President Putin, starting their dialogue in… I think it was in February that you had the first phone call, and from there we are now where we are today.

And that is, I think, if we play this well, we could end this. And we have to end this. We have to stop the killing. We have to stop the destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure. It is a terrible war. So I’m really excited. Let’s make the best out of today, and make sure that from today onwards, we get this thing to an end as soon as possible.

I really want to thank you for your leadership, what you are doing for the world, but of course also all the European colleagues. It is really crucial. The fact that you have said, “I am willing to participate in security guarantees,” is a big step. It’s really a breakthrough, and it makes all the difference. So also thank you for that.

Donald Trump

Well, NATO also has agreed from 2% to 5%, which is something that is a massive amount of money. And it’s 2% that wasn’t always paid to 5% that is paid. That’s a big difference, and we appreciate that. That was a great move. Thank you very much.

Ursula, maybe on behalf of the Commission, you could say a couple of words.

Ursula von der Leyen

Thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here. It’s a very important moment. Indeed, we are here — Europeans as friends and allies.

We had a fantastic NATO summit together with the two largest and biggest economies in the world. We had the largest trade deal ever agreed. And now we are here to work together with you on a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

Stop the killing. This is really our common interest — stop the killing. And indeed, it’s very good to hear that we’re working on the security guarantees. Article 5-style security guarantees are so important.

But I want to thank you also that you mentioned the thousands of Ukrainian children that have been abducted. As a mother and grandmother, every single child has to go back to its family. This should be one of our main priorities also in these negotiations: to make sure that the children come back to Ukraine, to their families.

Donald Trump

Thank you. And we did. I was just thinking — we’re here for a different reason, but we just, a couple of weeks ago, made the largest trade deal in history. That’s a big, big thing. Congratulations. That’s great. Thank you very much.

Yes, Mr. Chancellor from Germany, a very, very great leader.

Friedrich Merz

Mr. President, many thanks for having us today. I think this is extremely helpful that we are meeting and hearing that the two of you are having such a good meeting today here in Washington.

The next steps ahead — the more complicated ones now. The path is open. You opened it last Friday, but now the way is open for complicated negotiations. And to be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire, at the latest from the next meeting on.

I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire. So let’s work on that, and let’s try to put pressure on Russia. Because the credibility of these efforts we are undertaking today depends on at least a ceasefire from the beginning of the serious negotiations, from the next step on.

So I would like to emphasize this aspect and would like to see a ceasefire from the next meeting, which should be a trilateral meeting wherever it takes place.

Donald Trump

Well, we’re gonna let the President go over and talk to President Putin, and we’ll see how that works out. And if we can do that, I will say again — in the six wars that I’ve settled, I haven’t had a ceasefire. We just got into negotiations.

One of the wars was, as you know, in the Congo — it was 30 years, 31 years long. Another one that we settled last week with two great countries was 35 years going on. And we had no ceasefire. So if we can do the ceasefire, great. And if we don’t do a ceasefire, there are many other points given to us, many, many points. Great points.

Please, Giorgia, go ahead.

Giorgia Meloni

Well, thank you very much, Donald, Mr. President, for hosting us today in this important meeting. I think it is an important day, a new phase.

After three years in which we didn’t see any kind of sign from the Russian side that there was a willingness for dialogue, something is changing. Something has changed — thanks to you. Thanks also to the stalemate in the battlefield, which was achieved with the bravery of Ukrainians and with the unity that we all provided to Ukraine.

The reason why I mention it is that we also have to remind ourselves: if we want to reach peace and if we want to guarantee justice, we have to do it united. That’s why it’s a very good day, the one we are in.

You can obviously count on Italy, as it was from the beginning. We are on the side of Ukraine, and we absolutely support your efforts towards peace.

We will talk about many important topics. The first one is security guarantees: how to be sure that it won’t happen again, which is the precondition of every kind of peace. I’m happy that we will discuss that.

I’m happy that we will begin from a proposal, which is the Article 5 model — which was Italian at the beginning. So we are always ready to bring our proposals for peace, for dialogue. It’s something we have to build together, to guarantee peace and to defend the security of our nations.

So thank you very much, Mr. President, for hosting us.

Donald Trump

Thank you very much. Emmanuel.

Emmanuel Macron

Thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this meeting and for your commitment.

Everything was said, but I just have to say here: everybody around this table is in favor of peace. We work very hard, and we’ve worked very hard during the past few years to have a peace that is robust and long-standing.

This is why the idea of a trilateral meeting is very important — because this is the only way to fix it. By the way, I think as a follow-up, we would probably need a “P4” meeting, because when we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent. This is why we are all united here with Ukraine on this matter.

In order to organize such a trilateral meeting, your idea to ask for a truce — or at least to stop the killings, as we discussed — is a necessity. And we also support this idea.

To have such a long-standing peace for Ukraine and for the whole continent, we do need security guarantees. The first one is clearly a credible Ukrainian army for the years and decades to come. The second one is our own commitment.

We worked very hard during the past few months, amongst the “coalition of the willing,” with the support of NATO, to build the different parts of security guarantees and our commitments. You can be sure that Europeans are very lucid about the fact that they are the first to bear the cost in this situation — but their own security is clearly at stake.

So, you can count on us, as we can count on you, in order to deliver this robust peace for both Ukraine and Europe. Thank you.

Donald Trump

Thank you very much, Emmanuel. Mr. Prime Minister.

Keir Starmer

Thank you very much, Mr. President, and thank you for hosting us here.

Can I start where Emmanuel started — which is: we all want peace. The war in Ukraine has had a huge impact, particularly on the Ukrainians who have borne the brunt of it, but it’s also had an impact on Europe and on the United Kingdom. There’s not a family or community that hasn’t been affected.

And when we talk about security, we’re talking about the security not just of Ukraine, but of Europe and the United Kingdom as well — which is why this is such an important issue.

This is such an important meeting. As a group, I think we’ve had discussions on the phone a number of times, Mr. President. But to be able now to be around the table, to take it forward — I really feel that we can.

I think with the right approach this afternoon we can make real progress, particularly on the security guarantees. Your indication of security guarantees, Article 5-style guarantees, fits with what we’ve been doing with the coalition of the willing, which we started some months ago — bringing countries together and showing that we were prepared to step up to the plate when it came to security.

With you coming alongside the U.S., alongside what we’ve already developed, I think we could take a really important step forward today. A historic step, actually. It could come out of this meeting in terms of security for Ukraine, security in Europe.

I also feel we can make real progress towards a just and lasting outcome. Obviously, that has to involve Ukraine, but a trilateral meeting seems the sensible next step. So thank you for being prepared to take that forward.

If we can ensure that is the progress out of this meeting — both security guarantees and some sort of progress on a trilateral meeting to bring the difficult issues to a head — then I think today will be seen as a very important day in recent years, in relation to a conflict which has gone on for three and a bit years, and so far nobody’s been able to bring it to this point.

So thank you for that.

Donald Trump

Well, thank you very much. And it’s very interesting, because this is the first for the White House. You can’t say that very often. It’s seen a lot over the years, since the 1800s — 1799, to be almost exact.

But this is the first where we’ve had so many prime ministers, presidents, the heads of European nations.

And by the way, Alex, I’d like you to say a couple of words too. You’re young, powerful man. Before I finish up, I want you to say a couple of words. Go ahead.

Alexander Stubb

Well, I’ll take the notion of youth back to my wife and try to convince her.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

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. And I think the fact that we’re around this table today is very symbolic — in the sense that it’s Team Europe and Team United States helping Ukraine.

The progress that we’re looking for out of this meeting is about the security guarantees, which are a big part of this, and then of course moving towards a process with the trilateral meeting — with you, President Putin, and President Zelenskyy.

Some of the international media might wonder: why is the President of Finland here? I think the reason is probably that we might come from a small country, but we have a long border with Russia — over 800 miles. And we have our own historical experience with Russia, from World War II, the Winter War, and the War of Continuation.

If I look at the silver lining of where we stand right now, we found a solution in 1944. I’m sure that we’ll be able to find a solution in 2025 to end Russia’s war of aggression, and to find and get a lasting and just peace.

The situation is very difficult, but that’s why we’re here.

Donald Trump

Thank you, Alex, very much. Good job.

So, we’re gonna be meeting for a while, and we’re gonna discuss some of the issues. I don’t think there’s any issue that’s overly complex. It’s at a point now where people want to do things. I really do believe.

I’ve known him for a long time, I’ve always had a great relationship with him. I think that President Putin wants to find an answer too. And we’ll see in a certain period of time — not very far from now, a week or two weeks — we’re going to know whether or not we’re going to solve this, or is this horrible fighting going to continue.

We’ll do the best to get it ended. I believe you have two willing parties, and usually that’s good news. Two willing parties want to make a deal.

We journey together, and we’ll go over and we’ll see if it can be done. It’s possible it might not be able to be done. On the other hand, it’s possible it will. It will save thousands and thousands of lives a week, and so it’s something we really have to do — or at least we have to give it our best.

So you can give it your best, and I think we may have a very good outcome.

So I want to thank you all. And the media — I want to thank you. We’re going to be staying here for a little while. We’re going to walk over to the Oval Office, and we’re going to have another little discussion about similar matters. Then they’re going to go home to their great countries and report. And I’m going to remain here and work.

And you’re going to go and work. We’re all going to be working. We may be in different locations, but that’s what we know how to do — work.

I want to thank the media. It’s been actually very fair. Generally speaking, very fair. And I think it’s important that they’re fair, because this is a very important subject. We have to get it ended.

So that’s all we ask for — fairness with the media.

Thank you all very much. Appreciate it.