On Sunday night, Donald Trump wrote on social media that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could end the war immediately if he wanted to and that Ukraine would neither regain Crimea nor join NATO.

According to Foreign Ministry Secretary General Jonatan Vseviov, one of the main goals for European leaders at Monday's meeting in Washington is to explain that the reality is the opposite: only Russian leader Vladimir Putin, not his victim, can end the war.

Vseviov said that any peace deal on those terms would be short-lived, unjust and without any basis in international law. He added that Putin has not abandoned any of the objectives that led him to war in the first place.

"Putin himself made that clear in his public remarks after the meeting of the presidents in Alaska, when he spoke of root causes and some supposed European security balance. These code words may sound abstract to the uninformed listener, but anyone who has followed Russia and European security understands that behind them are comprehensive concepts," Vseviov said. He added that Russia spelled out those objectives at the beginning of 2022, including turning Europe's security architecture upside down and pushing NATO back to its 1997 borders.

"Of course, the path to a just and lasting peace must still be kept," he continued. "That path requires applying pressure on the aggressor, not the victim, and this is what European states are going to explain to Americans in Washington today. Hopefully, they will return with more positive messages. But clearly, words are not enough — actions are needed. Europe must quickly begin preparing the next package of sanctions and continue supplying Ukraine with weapons, to give Ukrainians the confidence to reject bad deals."

While Trump was satisfied with himself after the meeting, he is now criticizing the media. According to Vseviov, the initial optimism that Putin might show signs of flexibility was unfounded. He noted that while it is unclear how the conversation actually went, Russia's public statements and battlefield behavior show no change.

"Therefore, pressure on the aggressor must be increased. Here, America's role is very important. The promises and even threats voiced by the U.S. president are powerful, but now it is time to move from words to deeds. Otherwise, Putin will not change his mind," Vseviov said.

Putin, who seemed content after the Alaska meeting, appeared less so upon returning home. "I don't know if he too expected a quick deal, some kind of Munich-style agreement, which he didn't get, because nothing concrete came out of it," Vseviov said, noting that Europe's strong unity may also be causing concern in Moscow.

It is also unusual that leaders of major countries are traveling to the United States together with Zelenskyy. According to Vseviov, they are doing so for two reasons: to persuade the American president and to demonstrate unwavering support for Ukraine.

"The Kremlin's master must also reckon with the realities that shape the world around him. It is not only applause he encounters internationally, even if at times it may have seemed that his isolation was beginning to crack," Vseviov said.

"The only measure of success is whether the aggressor can be forced to end the aggression or not. And as long as that has not been achieved, there is no reason to rest on laurels, drink champagne or congratulate ourselves," he said.

All the time spent simply holding the line, as the current Washington visit could also be interpreted, is time not spent on raising the cost of aggression, Vseviov said.

"Ukraine constantly needs military aid, and here European states must take the next steps. Ukraine also needs the certainty that it is moving forward on the path to EU membership, and here too the next steps must be taken. There is quite a lot we in Europe can do ourselves. Our political capital should not be spent solely on convincing America," he said.

When speaking about security guarantees, Vseviov stressed that they must be real, not like those in the Budapest Memorandum. "The only credible guarantee in Europe is NATO membership. If, for political or other reasons, that cannot be granted tomorrow or on the day the guns fall silent, then something must be found that provides as much of that substance as possible. Otherwise, it is meaningless to use the term 'security guarantee.'"

Vseviov emphasized that it would be a mistake to hope Putin has completely changed his positions after just a few hours of talks. "If he ever does, the first sign will be that he stops firing rockets at Ukrainian children."

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