Zelenskyy thanks US for security guarantees, calls for trilateral talks with Russia

BRUSSELS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed the United States’ decision to join security guarantees for Ukraine, and urged the creation of a trilateral format involving Ukraine, the US and Russia to resolve issues.

“Everyone supports that key issues must be resolved with Ukraine’s participation in a trilateral format – Ukraine, the US, and the Russian chief”, Zelenskyy said after talks with the Coalition of the Willing.

“This is a historic decision that the United States is ready to take part in security guarantees for Ukraine. Security guarantees, as a result of our joint work, must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe’s participation”, he wrote in a post on X.

I am grateful to all participants of the Coalition of the Willing for today’s conversation in Brussels – on the eve of the meeting in Washington, D.C. with President Trump. It was very useful. We continue coordinating our joint positions. There is clear support for Ukraine’s… pic.twitter.com/Rp3qKkX7vn

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 17, 2025

Zelenskyy also called for unity in European nations, as they did when the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in 2022. “It’s crucial that Europe remains as united as it was in 2022. This strong unity is essential to achieve a real peace”, he said.

Today in Brussels, I outlined our positions on transatlantic unity, peace efforts, territorial issues, and security guarantees, including Ukraine’s EU accession.

It’s crucial that Europe remains as united as it was in 2022. This strong unity is essential to achieve a real peace. pic.twitter.com/PcT2CNgY8G

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 17, 2025

Meanwhile, Russia’s Permanent Representative at International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said that the West should provide Russia with the same reliable security guarantees as it promised to Ukraine, Tass reported.

“Many EU leaders emphasize that the future peace agreement should provide reliable security guarantees for Ukraine. Russia agrees with this. But it has every right to expect that Moscow will also receive effective security guarantees”, his statement said.

According to Ulyanov, the West is making a mistake by not starting to discuss such a step with respect to Russia. The Permanent Representative stressed that these guarantees should be “much more reliable than the notorious promises” about NATO’s non-expansion to the east, as per Tass.

US President Donald Trump said that if talks with Vladimir Zelensky on August 18 in Washington are successful, a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be scheduled; however, the White House host did not specify whether the meeting would be a trilateral one, Tass reported. (ANI)