Trump Zelensky meeting live: Trump threatens Putin with ‘rough situation’ if he doesn’t agree Ukraine peace deal

European Council President Antonio Costa said on Tuesday the process to make Ukraine a member of the European Union needs to advance and Europe has to be part of any peace negotiations alongside Ukraine, Russia and the United States.

Costa, who debriefed council members about Monday’s talks in Washington via a video call from Lisbon, told reporters that although there was much to be done and no guarantees of success, the very possibility of a bilateral meeting between Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin was “in itself fairly positive”.

Coalition of the willing planners will meet their US counterparts “in the coming days”, amid efforts to set up “robust security guarantees”, No 10 has said.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister (Sir Keir Starmer) co-chaired a virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing this morning with over 30 international leaders to update on the talks in Washington last night.

“The Prime Minister began by reflecting on the constructive meeting, saying it was clear there was a real sense of unity and shared goal of securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

“Turning to next steps, the Prime Minister outlined that coalition of the willing planning teams would meet with their US counterparts in the coming days to further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees and prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended.

“The leaders also discussed how further pressure – including through sanctions – could be placed on (Russian president Vladimir) Putin until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion.

“The Prime Minister said he looked forward to updating the group again soon, as further work progressed in the coming days and weeks.”

“The coalition of the willing has been successful in advocating for Ukraine and communicating with Trump and the US administration during its outreach to Russia,” says Edward Arnold from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank.

“Moreover, it has undertaken lengthy military planning and has established a leadership and command structure. However, much remains uncertain, especially the nature of any agreed ceasefire or whether a broader peace process is on the cards.”

But the US’s commitment is “far from certain”, he told the PA news agency, and warned that “European planners cannot progress the planning until the US position is agreed”.

More is coming through from Donald Trump’s interview on Fox and Friends, where he is discussing next steps in efforts towards peace in Ukraine.

There will be no US boots on the ground assisting peacekeeping efforts in the war-torn country, Trump vowed. He said European countries will do this instead.

The US president said Ukraine should never have asked to join Nato, adding that while the US will provide some kind of security guarantee, it will not be Nato membership.

Trump also denied claims that he called Putin while in the middle of meeting European leaders – and said that his warm relationship with the Russian leader is a good thing.

As Volodymyr Zelensky appears set to sit down with Vladimir Putin in the next two weeks, Chatham House research fellow Orysia Lutsevych has warned that this could be dangerous for Ukraine’s leader.

While the worst case scenario “of Trump selling Ukraine out to Putin was avoided” at Monday’s talks, she affirmed that a bilateral could become confrontational.

“A bilateral with Putin is dangerous for Zelensky. Even if it happens, which is highly unlikely, Putin will blame him for obstructing peace, being unreasonable. In such a case, the question is: who Donald Trump will trust and blame for his failed peacemaking efforts.”