Trump promises Zelensky security guarantees, but will Ukraine be forced into land concessions? Here's what was said during vital Washington meet

US President Donald Trump on Monday (Aug 18) told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington would back Ukraine's security in a deal to end the war with Russia. But, the question is would Kyiv be pushed to concede territory?. The pledge came during a high-stakes White House summit with Zelensky and a group of European leaders, just days after Trump's private meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The talks carried extra weight because only months earlier, Trump and Vice President JD Vance had publicly rebuked Zelensky in the Oval Office. In recent days, Trump has insisted that Ukraine would have to agree to land concessions or a swap to achieve peace. But was this a part of the Trump-Zelensky-EU leaders' Washington meeting? All you need to know.

Was a land swap discussed during the Washington meet?

French President Emmanuel Macron, who was part of the Washington meeting between Trump, Zelensky and the EU leaders, told reporters that the White House did not raise the prospect of Kyiv surrendering territory to Moscow. Asked by reporters if Trump had said that concessions were necessary before any US security guarantees to Ukraine, Macron said, "No, that wasn't discussed at all. We're well away from that."

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has compared Moscow's demand that Kyiv surrender Donbass to Washington being told to hand over Florida. Insisting Ukraine should not be forced to give up land, Merz after talks at the White House, told reporters, "The Russian demand that Kyiv give up the free parts of Donbass corresponds, to put it bluntly, to a proposal for the United States to have to give up Florida".

Trump's land-swap proposal

Trump, in the past, has talked about land swaps, but neither Ukraine nor Russia has shown interest in ceding land to the other for peace. However, in recent weeks, Trump has taken to reiterating his suggestion that the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which he claimed were nearing a breakthrough, could potentially include a "swapping of territories". On Friday (Aug 8), talking to reporters, he said, "I think we're getting very close," adding that the land he suggests be swapped has "been fought over for three and a half years".

Subsequently, on Monday (Aug 11), he again insisted, "There'll be some land swapping going on". "I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody, to the good of Ukraine," he said, adding that Russia had occupied some "very prime territory" but that "we're going to try to get some of that territory back".