Ukraine: Allies consider future Zelenskyy-Putin talks

Russian airstrikes have devastated the village of Raiske in eastern Ukraine, near Sloviansk, leaving homes destroyed and residents grieving.

Amid ongoing drone and missile attacks, even central cities like Kremenchuk are being hit.

As peace efforts continue to unfold in Washington and beyond, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have expressed deep skepticism, fearing worsening conditions on the front lines.

US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were setting up a meeting to discuss ending the war.

Trump said Putin and Zelenskyy had "a hard relationship, a very bad relationship" and that now it was a matter of seeing "how they do."

"They are in the process of setting it up," Trump said of the meeting in a radio interview on the radio program "The Mark Levin show."

Trump added that there was "too much killing" in the war and that it had to stop.

Non-NATO members Switzerland and Austria have said they are ready to host Vladimir Putin for a possible summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against the Russian president.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said the federal government can grant immunity to someone under an international arrest warrant if the visit is for a peace conference.

French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested Geneva as a potential venue, calling it a neutral location.

In Austria, Chancellor Christian Stocker also offered to host the talks, citing Vienna's long tradition with international organizations. His office said it would contact the ICC to clarify legal questions to allow Putin's participation. Putin faces an ICC warrant over the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Both the Swiss and Austrian options may face Kremlin resistance, as Moscow has grown hostile toward both countries over sanctions and deteriorating ties since 2022.

The last bilateral Russia-Ukraine negotiations took place in Istanbul, which Moscow continues to view as more friendly despite Turkey's NATO membership.

The White House has so far officially declined to comment on a Politico report that it is considering Budapest as a venue for a tripartite meeting involving Putin, Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump. But a White House official told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday that the two leaders had discussed the possibility of holding the summit in Hungary's capital.

Western nations have made a very clear effort in recent days to show their solidarity with Ukraine and a united front heading into any possible peace negotiations with Moscow.

DW looks at how the recent developments, in particular the Trump-hosted meeting at the White House, are perceived in Russia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte have talked about viable and sustainable security guarantees for Ukraine in a phone call, the Turkish presidency has said.

According to the presidency, Erdogan and Rutte reviewed the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine peace process and agreed on close coordination, with Turkey contributing to efforts toward a settlement.

The White House is considering Budapest as the venue for a potential trilateral meeting between President Donald Trump, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The news outlet, Politico reports that the US Secret Service has been preparing for the summit in Hungary, with the capital city emerging as the administration's top choice. Politico says it spoke to a Trump administration official and a person close to the administration.

Hungary has usually been opposed to EU sanctions on Russia.

Its capital city could also be viewed as an uncomfortable choice for Ukraine in light of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.

At that time, the US, the UK and Russia pledged to uphold Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and borders in return for Kyiv giving up its nuclear weapons. But Russia's 2014 assault on Ukraine showed the deal carried no weight, as none of the signatories deployed military forces to counter the attacks.

Germany has been working intensively on possible security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Tuesday that any German contribution must be defined "politically and militarily." He noted that the shape of Berlin's role has not yet been decided and pointed to factors such as the course of negotiations, a possible US role, and coordination with close partners.

"Of course, the willingness of Russia to come to a peaceful solution must also be examined," he added.

Pistorius said the government is working "at full speed on a solution" and stressed that Germany recognizes its responsibility in Europe while seeking reliable guarantees for Ukraine alongside its allies.

How to proceed with security guarantees for Kyiv? European Council President Antonio Costa has hosted a virtual summit with EU leaders to discuss the outcome of the Trump-hosted Ukraine talks in Washington, DC.

NATO military leaders are due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the way forward in Ukraine , US and NATO officials said on Tuesday.

It comes as Washington and European capitals seek concrete details of possible security guarantees for Kyiv.

United States Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, who also oversees all NATO operations in Europe, is due to brief the chiefs of defense on the outcome of the talks that took place on August 15 between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chairman of NATO's military committee, wrote on social media platform X there would be a video conference on Wednesday. 

"As diplomatic efforts to secure peace in #Ukraine progress, looking forward to [Grynkewich's] update on the current security environment," Dragone said on X.

The Coalition of the Willing met virtually on Tuesday and agreed that their planning teams would meet with US counterparts over the coming days to advance plans for security guarantees for Ukraine, according to the British government.

European countries should be prepared to deploy troops to Ukraine, backed up by US air power and military intelligence, in order to enforce any potential peace deal in Ukraine and deter Russia from further aggression, according to former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

"The most efficient and least expensive way to guarantee the security of Ukraine would be to grant membership of NATO but, in the absence of that, we have to deliver ironclad security guarantees that are close to an Article 5 guarantee," he told DW on Tuesday.

"I would foresee the bulk of troops deployed to Ukraine being European but backed by American reconnaissance, intelligence sharing, air defense, maybe some transport," he elaborated. "A joint European-American effort to guarantee the security of Ukraine in the future would be pretty close to an Article 5 guarantee."

On Friday, US President Donald Trump met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska for talks which failed to produce any concrete plans for a ceasefire in Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington for further talks, amid suggestions that Kyiv may have to surrender certain territories currently under Russian control — in particular the industrial Donbas region.

"The Donbas region is strategically, militarily, so important for Ukraine," said Rasmussen, referring in particular to the quarter of Donetsk oblast which remains under Ukrainian control and which includes a line of key fortified cities currently holding up the Russian advance. 

"It would be impossible for Ukraine just to give up what the Russians have not succeeded in conquering so far," said Rasmussen. "To achieve a sustained peace deal, you cannot force the Ukrainians to recognize the Russian theft of Ukrainian territory. It may well be that Ukraine will have to accept facts on the ground, but that's different from recognizing that theft."

Until a peace deal is achieved, Rasmussen remains a strong advocate of supporting Ukraine. Rasmussen served as NATO Secretary General from August 2009 until October 2014 before founding the political consultancy firm Rasmussen Global.

"Putin is not interested in peace; he's interested in continuing the war," he said. "We need to convince Putin that you cannot win on the battlefield and that he will have to negotiate a deal. That's why we should deliver to the Ukrainians everything they need militarily and financially."

Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin might not want to make a deal on Ukraine, contradicting earlier, more hopeful statements.

Trump spoke with the hosts of the Fox News talk show, Fox & Friends.

"I don't think it's going to be a problem [to end the war], to be honest with you," Trump said. "I think Putin is tired of it. I think they're all tired of it, but you never know." 

"We're going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks... It's possible that he doesn't want to make a deal," the US president added, lauding again his "very good relationship" with the Russian leader, who is wanted on international war crimes charges.

"I hope President Putin is going to be good, and if he's not, it's going to be a rough situation," said Trump, also expressing hopes that Ukraine's "President Zelenskyy will do what he has to do. He has to show some flexibility also." 

The US president also ruled out in the interview committing troops in some form as a security guarantee, suggesting instead that Washington could provide other assistance.

"There'll be some form of security. It can't be NATO," he said. "They're [European leaders] willing to put people on the ground. We're willing to help them with things, especially, probably, if you could talk about by air."

Trump has sought to sell himself as a peacemaker and talked much about the progress made toward it in Ukraine, however, Russia has continued, even increased its missile and drone attacks on its neighbor — killing civilians and destroying infrastructure in the country every day without pause.

 

Leaders of the so-called coalition of the willing reaffirmed the need for continued support for Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

"We all confirmed the need for continued support for Ukraine in the war with Russia," he wrote on X.

The coalition, a group of nations including most European countries, has also begun work on a framework for security guarantees for Ukraine, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said separately.

"There have been no decisions thus far as to the overall framework, nor to the individual contributions," Valtonen told reporters at a press conference with her Nordic and Canadian counterparts in Helsinki on Tuesday.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said his country would grant President Putin "immunity" if he attended a peace conference.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Geneva as a possible host for a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Putin's arrest in 2023 over the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.

As a member of the ICC, Switzerland would typically be expected to detain Putin. However, this obligation has been overlooked by other ICC members during international conferences.

Last year, the Swiss government clarified its policy on immunity for individuals under international arrest warrants. "If this person comes for a peace conference, not if they come for private reasons," Cassis told a press conference, "the rules for granting immunity apply."

President Trump has pledged coordinated security guarantees for Ukraine, following high-level talks at the White House with President Zelenskyy and key European leaders.

European leaders, including Chancellor Merz and Britain’s Prime Minister Starmer, rallied around Zelenskyy, determined to avoid another Oval Office humiliation.

The German chancellor said Trump was impressed that the Europeans had come with a unified front.

DW's Tessa Walther examines the extent of their influence and how significant it was.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said any meeting between President Putin and Ukraine's Zelenskyy must be thoroughly prepared.

"Any contacts involving national leaders must be prepared with the utmost thoroughness," Lavrov told state TV's Rossiya-24 channel.

Moscow is dedicated to resolving the conflict in Ukraine through both bilateral and trilateral formats, he added.

"The president has reiterated this many times," Lavrov said. "The key point is that these formats are not pursued for the sake of media coverage or evening broadcasts."

Trump's meeting with Putin in Alaska was organized in about a week, and the US president hosted Zelenskyy and a delegation of five European heads of government with only a couple of days' notice. 

Lavrov also stated that talks needed to take the interests of Russian speakers in Ukraine into account.  

"Without respect for Russia's security interests, without full respect for the rights of Russians and Russian-speaking people who live in Ukraine, there can be no talk of any long-term agreements," Lavrov