But it was also the second summit Trump has held in a matter of days, following his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, that finished without a concrete outcome.

So what happens next? This is what we know.

What happens now after Trump and Zelensky’s meeting?

It appears two more meetings are already on the cards, each involving both Putin and Zelensky.

During the White House meeting, Trump called Putin to organise a sit-down between the Russian president and his Ukrainian counterpart, which would then be followed by a trilateral summit involving all three leaders.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told Fox News that Putin had agreed to that first meeting.

“He was able, in a conversation with President Putin, to have Putin to agree to first a meeting between Putin and Zelensky,” Rutte, who was one of the European Leaders at the White House summit, said.

No dates or locations for either meeting have been set, and the Kremlin hasn’t confirmed Putin will attend yet – although foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov said the Russian dictator “spoke favourably” about continuing talks, according to state news agency Tass. 

Could that lead to a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine?

Trump described the White House meeting as “a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years”, and said that “everyone is very happy about the possibility of peace for Russia/Ukraine”.

The US president also claimed the fighting could wind down quickly, saying, “a week or two weeks, we’ll know whether we’re going to solve this”.

However, while Zelensky has backed down from demanding a ceasefire before any meeting with Putin, there are still a number of sticking points between the two sides that could get in the way of any peace deal.

What are the disagreements standing in the way of a peace deal?

It’s not a short list, but territory and security are two of the main ones.

Russia currently holds about 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory: the coveted Crimean peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014, as well as large swathes of the Luhansk, Donetsk (which collectively form the Donbas, a crucial industrial hub), Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

It also claims further territory in those four regions that it hasn’t fully occupied during the war.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is refusing to cede land to Moscow.

“Partners know our red lines – that we do not recognise the occupied territories… this is a violation of international law and the Constitution of Ukraine,” Zelensky said recently. 

But at the same time, Ukraine is losing ground in the war – albeit gradually – and doesn’t have the military means to retake the land it has lost since 2014. 

Its European allies have talked about the current frontlines being the starting point for negotiations, and Trump has spoken of “land swaps” as a peace condition.

It appears the greater focus for Kyiv is now gaining security guarantees to ensure Russia cannot use the ground it has gained since 2022 to launch another invasion – just as it did with Crimea.

The gold standard of assurances would be NATO membership, thanks to its Article 5, which treats an attack on any one of the allies as an attack on all, but that is out of the question.

Instead, European leaders have suggested an Article 5-like guarantee for Ukraine without bestowing it official membership, and a peacekeeping force – which Australian troops could join, given Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s openness – on the ground.

Trump signalled his support for those guarantees, saying European countries “want to give protection and they feel very strongly about it and we’ll help them out with that”, although the exact details remain unclear.

Moscow is vociferously opposed to NATO membership for Ukraine, and while White House envoy Steve Witkoff said Putin agreed to security guarantees during his meeting with Trump over the weekend, more recent statements from the Kremlin suggest otherwise.

Russia “categorically rejects… any scenario that envisages the appearance in Ukraine of a military contingent with the participation of NATO countries”, foreign affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova said yesterday.

Putin has also talked of imposing size limits on Ukraine’s army – something Kyiv rejects – while Ukraine has sought the return of children who have been illegally deported to Russia since 2022.

Another disagreement has centred around a ceasefire before a permanent peace deal.

Ukraine and its European allies have pushed for one – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Trump there should be one in place before another meeting is held.

However, while Trump had previously pressured both Putin and Zelensky to accept a ceasefire, and had threatened more sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin didn’t agree to one, that now appears off the table.

The US president changed his position following the meeting with Putin, and has since aligned with the dictator’s position that negotiations should focus on a long-term peace settlement instead.

– with Associated Press