The pace of diplomatic efforts has undeniably accelerated, though the risk of derailment remains high. On Monday, 18 August, Washington played host to a rare meeting, planned over a single weekend, between European leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.

The show of unity at the White House and the pleasantries exchanged in front of the cameras, intended to flatter a vain and unpredictable host who dreams of being seen as a peacemaker in Ukraine and beyond, resulted in a promise to continue these efforts. Meanwhile, the Russian military continued its aggressive actions, as if the diplomatic and battlefield realities remained separate.

At the end of his talks with his guests in the East Room, Trump spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin. The possibility of a bilateral meeting between the Russian leader and Zelensky, at an unspecified location, was raised, with no confirmation from Moscow yet. "After that meeting takes place," Trump specified on his Truth Social network, "we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself."

The problem with this idealized sequence lies in the idea that high-level meetings between leaders can, by themselves, resolve such a bloody and complex conflict, while the motivations and calculations of the Russian aggressor remain unchanged. Meeting Zelensky would be an unprecedented gesture from the Russian president since the war began in February 2022, as he has always regarded his Ukrainian counterpart as illegitimate. Yet it would not entail any substantive commitment.

You have 84.11% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.