World leaders gathered in Washington on Monday for a summit billed as a potential turning point<\/a> in efforts to end the most significant ground war in Europe<\/a> since the Second World War.<\/p>\n In the Oval Office, Donald Trump<\/a> hosted Ukraine<\/a>\u2019s Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> and senior European figures to thrash out what security guarantees for Ukraine<\/a> might look like if a peace deal with Russia can be reached. <\/p>\n The meeting was described as \u201chistoric\u201d by Sir Keir Starmer<\/a>, who has emerged as one of the driving forces behind Europe\u2019s response. <\/p>\n But even as the talks took place, Moscow<\/a> dismissed the plans as dangerous and warned against any Western military presence in Ukraine. <\/p>\n United States security guarantees<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump has made clear that the United States will not commit troops on the ground in Ukraine. <\/p>\n But the prospect of an arrangement that borrows some of the deterrent effect of Nato\u2019s Article 5 has been discussed, a move revealed by the alliance\u2019s secretary general Mark Rutte<\/a>. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n President Trump met with European leaders on Monday to discuss a peace deal for Ukraine (AP)<\/p>\n He told Fox News: \u201cWhat we are discussing here is not Nato membership, what we are discussing here is Article 5 type of security guarantees for Ukraine and what exactly they will entail will now be more specifically discussed.”<\/p>\n Ukraine also wants to buy $90 billion (\u00a367bn) worth of US weapons and says they could form part of the security guarantee. <\/p>\n Beyond that, however, Trump has been vague about how much the US would contribute.<\/p>\n Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump underlined that European nations would be expected to carry most of the burden. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to security, there\u2019s going to be a lot of help,\u201d he said, sitting next to Zelensky. \u201cThey are a first line of defence because they\u2019re there. But we\u2019ll help them out.\u201d<\/p>\n British guarantees and the coalition of the willing<\/strong><\/p>\n The United Kingdom has taken a leading role in shaping European proposals. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has spearheaded the creation of a \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d, a group of allies prepared to go further than financial and weapons support. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Sir Keir Starmer is taking a leading role in the \u2018Coalition of the Willing\u2019 (Reuters)<\/p>\n Under this plan, international \u201creassurance\u201d forces could be deployed in Ukraine after a ceasefire or peace deal, helping to deter renewed Russian attacks and to provide reassurance that Kyiv<\/a> is not left to stand alone.<\/p>\n The plan was discussed in a virtual meeting on Tuesday attended by more than 30 international leaders.<\/p>\n The virtual meeting, co-chaired by Sir Keir, also discussed possible further sanctions on Russia to pile pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war.<\/p>\n European leaders see security guarantees as essential to any peace deal, but they also stress that Ukraine must be directly involved in shaping the terms. <\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/UCRANIA-GUERRA-QU\u00c9_SIGUE_05518.jpg\")
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