WATCH: Zelenskyy brings Europe’s top leaders to meet Trump over ending Ukraine war

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump expressed hope that Monday’s critical talks with Ukrainian and European leaders at the White House could lead to trilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Watch in the video player above.

Monday’s hastily assembled meeting comes after Trump met with Putin and has said that the onus is now on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions that he said could end the war.

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A group of European political heavy-hitters will met with the U.S. president after they were left out of Friday’s summit, and they are looking to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow.

Trump says he wants to put Russia-Ukraine war ‘to sleep’

Trump opened a group meeting with Zelenskyy and leaders from Europe using a new phrase to say he wants to end the war.

Trump said the group wants to see “if we can get it finished” and “put this to sleep.”

Trump lavished praise on his guests

Sitting in the East Room, Trump was jovial as he recognized all of the European leaders at the table.

He called British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “my friend” and said he liked French President Emmanuel Macron “from day one.” He said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was “very strong” and said “I want to get a tan like that.” He praised Finnish President Alexander Stubb’s appearance, saying “you look better than I’ve ever seen you look.”

Despite comments earlier, Trump says ceasefire is ‘preferred’ between Russia and Ukraine

Trump said in an Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy earlier that a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was “unnecessary.” After an hour of closed-door meeting with EU leaders and Zelenskyy, Trump then told reporters in the East Room that “all of us would obviously prefer the immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace.”

He added that he likes a ceasefire because it would “immediately stop the killing,” but reiterated that a peace agreement between the two countries is “very attainable” at this point in the war.

Merz calls for ceasefire and ‘to put pressure on Russia’

The German chancellor said he would “like to see a ceasefire from the next meeting, which should be a trilateral meeting” with Ukraine, Russia and the U.S.

Like his other European counterparts, Merz had praise for Trump for his role in the process of angling to work out an end to the war.

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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told Trump his willingness to participate in security guarantees marked a “breakthrough” and “makes all the difference.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for working together on “a just and lasting peace,” while Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni called the gathering “an important day and new phase.”

Ukraine talks could signal future for European security

A focal point for negotiations on ending the war with Russia has been security guarantees for Ukraine as a shield against future aggression.

Details are still in flux, but it’s clear that European leaders see the issue as pivotal for the entire continent, not just Ukraine.

“When we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent,” Macron said.

Starmer made a similar point.

“I think we could take a really important step forward today, a historic step actually to come out of this meeting in terms of security for Ukraine and security in Europe,” he said.