'All they did was book another meeting': Did Trump's talks achieve anything?

Read time: 5 mins

In brief…

• In an “act of theatre”, European leaders flew to the US to meet with Trump and Zelensky, days after the US president met with Vladimir Putin, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
• The News Agents say the leaders all consider Trump “an idiot”, but spent time praising the president, even when he made unfounded claims of having ended “six wars” during his time in power.
• The outcome of the meeting is an attempt to secure a “trilateral meeting” between Russia, Ukraine and members of the Western alliance, where Putin and Zelensky can meet face to face for the first time.

What’s the story?

Maybe The News Agents got it wrong.

Ahead of the White House meetings between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, and leaders from across Europe, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall said they believed there was something big, something momentous going on.

After all, why else would some of the most powerful people in Europe cancel their summer plans, fly to Washington and meet with the presidents of America and Ukraine, just days after Trump sat down with Vladimir Putin to discuss ending his illegal war?

But despite the drama, the theatre, and the performance of Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Georgia Meloni and Friedrich Merz in jetting to the US – the net result may simply be to try and book in another meeting.

One of the key points the world leaders discussed was a trilateral summit between Ukraine, Russia and members of the Western alliance to, once again, discuss peace in Ukraine.

"The truth is, we've ended up in a place where they've agreed to have another meeting," Lewis says.

"That is basically where we're at, and they've agreed to keep talking in the interim."

But that's not to say nothing was achieved, and no progress was made.

What happened in Washington?

President Zelensky met with Donald Trump in a re-run of their bitter February meeting – but this time around, the Ukrainian leader wore a suit, and it did not descend into a shouting match.

During the "restrained" Oval Office meeting, the US president didn't rule out sending US troops to Ukraine, and spoke about offering security guarantees – which he claims would give the country military support from NATO nations, without it needing to join the international treaty.

This has been a key sticking point for Putin, who is desperate to make sure Russia's neighbour is not part of a global alliance that may stand against him.

The pair then met with European leaders to discuss peace in Ukraine, which has been under siege from Putin's Russian forces since February 2022. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, on both sides, since then.

While the summit was taking place, Russian drones hit Donetsk, as Russian tanks continue "trundling" towards Ukrainian soil.

Meanwhile Starmer and his European cohorts were praising Trump's actions in attempting to be the peacemaker in the situation.

"This has been the European strategy for some months now, to live fully in Trump's universe, the universe of his own making,” Lewis says.

Trump made claims of having ended six wars during his brief second stint in the White House – and while these were echoed by the European leaders, no one really knows what those wars are.

"It was an act of theatre," Lewis adds.

"It was the European leaders and Zelensky choosing to engage with Trump on his own terms, which is for the television camera, it is putting on a show – and they all put on a hell of a show.

"These European leaders, Zelensky included, all think Trump's an idiot. They think he's a moron. They think this guy hasn't got a clue what he's doing, and he makes their life hell on a daily basis."

Keir Starmer said the meeting would be seen as marking a "very important day" in the Ukraine peace process, and said no one but Trump had been able to bring the situation to this point.

"The Europeans are sticking with Plan A which is to stick as closely to Trump as possible to mask their own weakness and hope to guide him to the finish line, which is a point where he blames Putin and presumably continues to fund and give military support to Ukraine," says Lewis.

But as the world has learned from Trump's two times in power, there is no guarantee that what is said on any given day will last.

"Nothing is signed in blood with Donald Trump," says Jon.

"Nothing is worth the paper it is written on."

What comes next?

Despite a relative lack of progress from the meeting, there is no question that Trump does want peace in Ukraine, and moreover, he wants to be the man who achieves it. He wants that credit, and a Nobel Peace Prize.

"The positive sign was that actually, Trump was talking in a much more constructive and measured and serious minded way about the issues that they face," says Jon.

"But my God, there are some big questions that remain to be answered."

The greatest outcome from the meeting, The News Agents say, is Trump's switch from an isolationist stance, to one where he appears willing to work alongside his European allies.

The key sticking point, it seems, with the proposal of a trilateral meeting would be whether Putin agrees. If he refuses, The News Agents believe it will sway Trump back to offering more support to Zelensky.

This, Jon and Lewis add, is what the European leaders are banking on.

"Trump seems to be a man who has got a different drive in this element of his administration," Lewis says.

"I find it difficult to believe he would have had in the first term.

"Maybe that's just about changing politics, maybe it's because he's conquered domestic politics and he's a man who constantly needs momentum and a sense of thrust around the world, and therefore he's moving on to all of these different things."

But with the removal of Trump's push for a ceasefire (which was his stance less than a week ago) and still no tariffs on Russia imports to the US, The News Agents describe the leaders' meeting as a "net win" for Putin.

Trump even stated, caught on a live mic, that he believes Putin will agree to a deal only to keep him happy.

"What we've learned is that there is no length that the other side will not go to to keep Trump on that journey and to keep the game going – other than actually accede to the maximal requests of the other side that would end the war," Lewis says.

"As long as they can keep putting more processes in place and having another summit and having another meeting and playing for time so they can keep that game of persuasion alive in the core of Donald Trump's head, then they will do it.

"And that is basically what they've agreed to."

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.