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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Monday that he and U.S. President Donald Trump had a “good” talk on the issue of providing security guarantees for Ukraine, while the conflict with Russia is in its fourth year.

Addressing reporters at the White House alongside Trump and European leaders, Zelenskyy emphasized that security guarantees were at the center of Ukraine’s survival and future independence. “The first one is security guarantees. And we are very happy with President [Trump], that all the leaders are here, and security in Ukraine depends on the United States and European countries,” Zelenskyy said. He further stated that Washington’s readiness to deliver “strong signals” of support was “very important,” but did not go into the specifics of the guarantees.

Trump, for his part, reiterated the importance of security while also stressing that Europe should bear the brunt of the costs. The U.S. president argued that the conflict could not be resolved without engaging in tough talks on territory. “We’re going to help them, and we’re going to make it very secure,” Trump said. “We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact. That means the war zone, the war line center.”

The White House meeting took place against a backdrop of sharp divisions among Western leaders over how to balance support for Kyiv with demands for a negotiated peace. While Trump has not shied away from the possibility of territorial concessions, Zelenskyy has in recent months repeatedly made clear that Ukraine’s sovereignty and international borders must be preserved.

Sanctions, Ceasefire, and NATO Membership in the Balance

In Washington, leaders were also discussing the security guarantees, as U.S. lawmakers continued to sharpen their calls for economic pressure on Russia and its trading partners. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has called on the Trump administration to take a more active approach in targeting Moscow’s financial assets. He has co-sponsored a piece of legislation that would allow Trump to impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on countries that continue to do business with Russia.

“My advice to President Trump and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio] is, you’ve got to convince Putin that if this war doesn’t end justly and honorably with Ukraine making concessions also, we’re going to destroy the Russian economy,” Graham said in an interview on Fox News. Graham also singled out China in particular, saying Beijing had “extraordinary leverage with Vladimir Putin.” “The second most important person on the planet to end this war is President Xi in China,” he added, calling on Washington to “demand” that Beijing end its support for Moscow.

Trump has already demonstrated a willingness to use tariffs as a means of coercion. In August, he announced a 50 percent tariff on India, in part over its purchase of Russian oil. Graham suggested a similar move against China could “move this war very quickly.”

In the EU, negotiators are preparing the next round of sanctions, the 19th since the war began. The new measures, expected later this month, are aimed at further constricting Russia’s energy revenues, access to the banking system, and military-industrial base, as well as sealing existing loopholes and enhancing enforcement against sanctions evasion. As a result of four years of Western economic warfare, Moscow is now the most sanctioned country in modern history, surpassing Iran, North Korea, or Venezuela.

Still, sanctions are not the only point of contention. European leaders also pressed Trump on the need for a ceasefire ahead of any meaningful negotiations. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said a temporary truce was needed to give talks credibility. “I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” Merz said. Trump pushed back on the need for a truce, however, saying that several of the six peace agreements he claimed to have brokered in recent months were done without a ceasefire. “You have a ceasefire, and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild,” Trump said, while acknowledging that the main benefit of a truce would be to immediately halt civilian casualties.

One of the new European leaders to join the White House talks on Monday was Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who assumed office in March 2024. An openly skeptical critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s readiness to respect a ceasefire, Stubb also emphasized Finland’s historical experience in dealing with Russia, noting his country’s 800-mile-long border with Russia. Stubb, one of Trump’s closest European interlocutors, said: “If I look at the silver lining of where we stand right now, we found a solution in 1944, and I’m sure that we’ll be able to find a solution in 2025 to end Russia’s war of aggression.”

In addition to sanctions and ceasefires, Trump has been blunt about the conditions for peace in a post on his Truth Social platform. In the message, Trump urged Ukraine to formally give up Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and to give up its ambitions to join NATO. “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump wrote, blaming former President Barack Obama for “giving” Crimea to Russia without any resistance more than a decade ago. He said that, while no country should be allowed into NATO against the collective will of its members, “NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE” should remain a “red line.”

Zelenskyy’s calls for long-term Western security guarantees contrasted sharply with Trump’s tough conditions and insistence on concessions. The meeting highlighted deep divisions in Washington and Europe over the best approach to end the war. With new sanctions on the horizon, rising tariff threats, and continued fighting on the battlefield, the path to peace looks anything but certain, mired as it is between calls for compromise and solidarity.