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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday told reporters that his telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend was “good,” as the two discussed security guarantees for Ukraine during its fourth year of war with Russia.

“We were talking about a very important topic, and 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 from the White House alongside Trump and European leaders.

The Ukrainian president did not provide specific details about his discussion with Trump, including what kind of security guarantees would be acceptable or desirable for Kyiv. But he said Washington’s “readiness” to issue strong signals in support of Ukraine was “very important.”

Trump, for his part, stressed that European countries must bear most of the burden for Ukraine’s security. He also said the war cannot be solved without “painful” negotiations over territory and announced that “talks are happening.”

“The most important thing is 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 meeting at the White House laid bare deep rifts among Western leaders over how to strike a balance between supporting Ukraine and bringing about a negotiated end to the war. Trump has been most outspoken on the issue, with European leaders also having pressed for an immediate ceasefire to give peace talks a chance.

U.S. lawmakers, too, were busy sharpening the debate over the weekend. In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told host Martha MacCallum that the Trump administration should be more aggressive about cutting off Russia’s financial lifelines, including by targeting the countries that continue to buy Russian oil.

Graham, who is co-sponsoring legislation that would allow Trump to impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on Russian trading partners, called on Washington to ratchet up the pressure on Chinese President Xi Jinping. “The most important person on the planet to end this war is Vladimir Putin. The second most important person on the planet to end this war is President Xi in China,” Graham said. “If we’re going to win this thing, we have to convince President Xi to get out of this war.”

Trump, for his part, has already used tariffs as a cudgel once against India over its purchases of Russian oil. Graham’s comments suggested similar threats to China could change the course of the conflict in a matter of weeks.

Leaders in the European Union, meanwhile, are expected to unveil their 19th round of sanctions against Moscow later this month. The bloc is targeting Russia’s remaining energy exports, banking ties, and military-industrial complex. Moscow’s sanctions evasion has been a priority in the latest round of measures, and officials have promised to make it more difficult for Russian oligarchs and proxy regimes like Belarus and the Wagner Group to flout restrictions.

After nearly four years of sanctions, Russia is now the most sanctioned country in history, with more restrictions on its economy than Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. As of March 2024, Western nations had cut or banned imports of key Russian commodities from oil and gas to grains and metals, essentially paralyzing Moscow’s export-dependent economy.

Sanctions have also been a topic of conversation during Trump’s negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. European leaders pressed Trump during his visit to Kyiv last week to agree on a ceasefire as the first step toward peace negotiations, though the U.S. president has also made it clear that he views a ceasefire as a bad idea. Trump argued during Monday’s press conference with Zelenskyy that several of the six peace agreements he says to have brokered in recent months were made without a truce.

“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “To give the meeting a chance for success, a ceasefire is essential.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has argued for a ceasefire before peace talks can resume, but Trump has said a truce is a bad idea. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump pointed out that when he visits Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is expected in the coming weeks, there won’t be a ceasefire. “You have a ceasefire, and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild,” he added, while also recognizing that most of the appeal of a truce was the immediate stop to the loss of civilian life.

Trump has also been blunt with Zelenskyy about the preconditions for an agreement with Russia. In a recent post on his Truth Social platform, the president said Ukraine should formally cede Crimea to Moscow and halt its ambitions to join the NATO military alliance as part of a peace deal.

The meeting with European leaders was also an opportunity for new faces. Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who took office in March this year, was present for the White House meeting after being openly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s willingness to honor a ceasefire.

“I see great personal interest in Vladimir Putin’s peace offer from President Trump. So we are going to have to see what happens in the coming weeks,” Stubb told Fox News Sunday. “I think, as a Finn with an 800-mile border with Russia and a leader of a country that had very, very tough times with Russia not so long ago, I have a little bit of experience in dealing with Russia.”