Progress towards Zelensky-Putin meeting, Europe welcomes Trump's guarantee

Japan ready to contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine

Photo: Associated Press

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said his country will participate in guaranteeing Ukraine's security, but has made no statement on what this would involve, Nippon reported.

"We will fully discuss what our nation can and should do, including from the perspectives of laws and capacities, and play an appropriate role," Ishiba told reporters Tuesday in his Tokyo office, CNN reports.

However, Ishiba has stressed that Japan "is not at the stage where it can provide details" regarding the support it may offer Ukraine.

Although not a formal member of NATO, Japan works closely with the military alliance, and Ishiba's comments are a measure of how prepared Western countries are to help defend Ukraine in the event of future Russian aggression, once a peace deal is reached to end Moscow's occupation.

After meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, European leaders have discussed how they can provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the future, including deploying a peacekeeping force.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday that 30 countries - including Japan - are working on a framework to support Ukraine's security after a ceasefire or a full peace agreement between Kiev and Moscow.

Meanwhile, President Trump has ruled out the possibility of the US sending troops to Ukraine. 

Zelensky: Ukraine is working with allies on the "specifics" of security guarantees

Photo: Associated Press

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Monday's talks at the White House as an "important step towards ending the war" and ensuring Ukraine's security, adding that the leaders are "already working on the concrete content of security guarantees."

"Today, we continue coordination at the level of leaders. We will continue to work tomorrow. National security advisers are also in constant contact now. There will be security guarantees," Zelensky wrote on X.

He again thanked Ukraine's partners, adding that his country "feels their strength."

"We will do everything to make the path to peace a reality - through partnership, through security guarantees and through the courage of the Ukrainian people," Zelensky added.

Politico: Trump proposed a trilateral meeting, but Putin only wants to meet with Zelensky

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin

US President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, proposing a meeting that would also include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

But, as a senior Trump administration official has announced to "Politic", Putin told the American president that he did not need to come to the meeting. 

"You don't have to come. I want to meet him in person," the official said Putin said. 

According to the official, Trump's team has begun working on this aspect. 

"Emissary Steve Witkoff has a duty to find a solution," the official said. 

The official said that if the meeting in Alaska on Friday between Trump and Putin had not been successful, then he would not have come to Monday's meeting. 

"If Alaska hadn't been a success and if Putin hadn't given us some space, then we wouldn't have Europeans in the White House," the official said.

Witkoff said on Sunday that Putin had agreed to provide security guarantees to Ukraine. 
European states, as part of these guarantees, are willing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, but US President Trump has rejected the possibility of sending American troops.
 

NATO meets on Wednesday on Ukraine

Photo: Associated Press

NATO military leaders are expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss Ukraine and the way forward, a US and NATO official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the US Chief of Staff, Dan Caine, is expected to attend the meeting virtually.

The Chairman of NATO's Military Committee has called what a NATO source described as a regular meeting at the level of Defense Chiefs.

Another NATO official said the alliance's top military commander, Alexus Grynkewicz, will brief defense chiefs on the results of the meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.

Russia and Ukraine exchange troops

Russia has returned the bodies of 1,000 killed Ukrainian troops and received 19 bodies from Ukraine, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky.

Tass also reports that the exchange was carried out as part of agreements reached during previous talks between the two sides in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, following the meeting that US President Donald Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, efforts have increased for a meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Switzerland has been mentioned as an idea for the meeting place, although the location and date of the meeting have not yet been determined. 

Trump: Ukraine will take a lot of territory

Photo: Associated Press

US President Donald Trump said Ukraine would take a lot of territory when asked during a Fox News interview on Tuesday whether he had discussed any land swap deal with Zelensky and European leaders.

"Ukraine will get its life back," he said. "They will take a lot of territory."

Trump has said that Russia is a very powerful country militarily, whether people like this fact or not. 

"But this was a war and Russia is a powerful military nation... whether people like it or not," Trump added.

Why is Donbass becoming a dividing point in talks on Ukraine?

At last week's summit in Alaska, Russian President Vladimir Putin made full control of Donbass - Ukraine's industrial heartland in the east - a central condition for ending the war.

According to sources briefed on the talks, the Russian leader demanded that Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk, the two regions that make up Donbas, in exchange for a freeze along the rest of the front line.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently refused to cede any territory under Kiev’s control, making Donbas a key sticking point in peace talks. The idea is also deeply unpopular in the country: about 75% of Ukrainians officially oppose giving any territory to Russia, according to polls by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology.

Putin's attempt to dominate the region dates back to 2014, when Moscow armed and financed separatist proxies and sent covert troops across the border. This campaign escalated into a full-scale invasion in 2022, when Russian forces completely occupied most of the region.

Today, Russia holds 46,570 square km, or approximately 88% of Donbas, including all of Luhansk and about three-quarters of Donetsk.

Ukraine continues to hold several key cities and fortified positions in the Donetsk region, defended at the cost of tens of thousands of lives. More than 250,000 civilians are in the parts of the region still under Ukrainian control.

Where is Donbass and why does Putin want it?

Donbass is an industrial heartland in eastern Ukraine, rich in coal and heavy industry. It has long been one of Ukraine's most Russian-speaking regions, shaped by waves of Russian migration during the Soviet industrial campaign that turned coal mines and steel mills into the engine of the former Soviet Union.

The region's political loyalties often leaned eastward: Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin-backed president ousted in 2014, was born in Donetsk and built his power base there.

Donbass was plunged into conflict in 2014 after Yanukovych was ousted by mass protests and fled the country. Following that, Moscow annexed Crimea and unrest spread across eastern Ukraine. Armed groups backed by Russian fighters declared the creation of self-proclaimed "people's republics" in Donetsk and Luhansk.

The separatist war has fueled resentment against Moscow in the Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donbas. In Ukraine's 2019 presidential election, voters there backed Zelensky by a wide margin. Zelensky, a Russian speaker himself, campaigned to end the conflict while upholding Ukraine's sovereignty.

Since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022, Putin has presented the protection of the residents of Donbas as a central justification for launching what he called his “special military operation.” In a televised address, he said that the self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk had appealed to Moscow for help and repeated baseless claims that the Russian-speaking residents were facing “genocide” from Kiev.

In reality, Donbas served as a pretext: within hours, Russian forces advanced far beyond the region, attacking Kiev in an attempt to overthrow Zelensky's government and take control of the entire country.

How does the average Russian see Donbass?

For years, Russian state media tried to cultivate sympathy for Donbass, portraying Ukraine as discriminatory towards its Russian-speaking population, but this never really resonated with the general public.

Unlike Crimea, which had a deep historical and emotional resonance for many Russians, Donbass remained a more remote and industrial region with little symbolic weight.

On the eve of the full-scale invasion, independent polls showed that only about a quarter of Russians supported the idea of incorporating Donetsk and Luhansk into Russia.

However, since the invasion, the narrative has changed: polls show that most Russians accept and support Putin's stated goal of "protecting" the population of Donbas, and most support the annexation of the territories.

Will Putin's ambitions with Donbass end?

Putin reportedly told Donald Trump in Alaska that in exchange for Donetsk and Luhansk, he would halt further advances and raise the front line in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson and Zaporizhia, where Russian forces have captured significant areas.

Publicly, Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is seeking full control of the four regions it claims to have annexed by the fall of 2022, including Kherson and Zaporizhia. He has also spoken of creating so-called "neutral zones" within Ukraine's Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions.

"Putin has acted opportunistically. When he launched the invasion, he had no specific territorial boundaries in mind," said a former senior Kremlin official. "His appetite grows after he has tasted success."

Military analysts doubt whether Russia has the economic or military capacity to push much beyond Donbass and say the conflict could drag on for years as a bitter, exhausting war in Ukraine.

And Ukraine has warned that the surrender of Donbas, with its string of fortified cities like Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, would give Russia a launching pad for deeper advances into central Ukraine.

Trump: Zelensky should be more flexible in negotiations

US President Donald Trump told American broadcaster Fox News on Tuesday that he hopes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "does what he needs to do," while stressing that he should be "more flexible" in peace negotiations, the BBC wrote.

Asked about the trilateral meeting between him, Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump hopes the Kremlin chief "behaves well," if not then, as he said, it will be "a difficult situation."

He added, among other things, that he does not expect Zelensky and Putin to become "close friends," but claimed that both leaders are the ones "giving the orders."

In addition, when answering the question of whether US military troops would be deployed to Ukraine as part of security guarantees, Trump emphasized that this would never happen.

"You have my word on this," he concluded.

Meanwhile, regarding Monday's meeting with European leaders, Trump has stated that they are "good people" who want to "end the war."

He said that the conflict in Ukraine is closer to Europeans because "we (America) have an ocean separating us."

"So, it's something different for them. When the emphasis is on security, they are willing to deploy troops on the ground," Trump added.

According to the American president, the US is ready to help with other aspects of security, such as through air support, but has emphasized that Ukraine's membership in NATO cannot be the main form on which security is based.

Switzerland ready to host Putin-Zelensky meeting, Russian president does not prefer Europe

Photo: Associated Press

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal that the meeting between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky be held in Geneva and said that Switzerland is grateful for the trust placed in it.
But there are legal questions about such a meeting.

Switzerland has ratified the Rome Treaty that creates the International Criminal Court (ICC) and, since Putin is indicted by the ICC for war crimes, would be obligated to arrest him if he were to arrive on Swiss soil.

But the Swiss government, anticipating that Geneva could be a venue for the meeting, has engaged its lawyers to examine the implications and Cassis has stated that there is room for flexibility, telling Swiss media "we can do this despite the arrest warrant against Putin because of our special role and the role of Geneva as the European headquarters of the United Nations."

Meanwhile, President Putin is reportedly reluctant to go to Western Europe for talks, preferring Turkey or the United Arab Emirates.

European city proposed for Putin-Zelensky meeting

Switzerland is among the potential countries that could welcome the presidents of Russia and Ukraine for talks.

It initially came as a proposal from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said that talks between the two leaders should be held in  a neutral place, specifically proposing the city of Geneva.

Switzerland is eager to host such an event for many reasons, from reminding the world of Geneva's importance at a time when finances have fallen sharply for United Nations agencies based there, to perhaps also signaling its good intentions to President Trump, in the hope of getting a better deal than the shocking 39% tariffs he recently imposed on Swiss products.

But despite what Switzerland wants, the final decision rests with the great powers.

Putin in particular is thought to be more reluctant to come to Western Europe for talks, perhaps preferring Turkey or the United Arab Emirates.

On the other hand, Switzerland has said it is ready to host a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis welcomed Macron's proposal to hold the meeting in Geneva and said Switzerland is grateful for the trust placed in it.

But there are questions about such a meeting.

Switzerland has ratified the Rome Treaty that creates the International Criminal Court (ICC), and since Putin is now indicted by the ICC on war crimes charges, it would be obligated to arrest him if he arrived on Swiss soil.

Today Cassis said there was room for flexibility, telling Swiss media: "We can do this despite the arrest warrant against Putin."

Praise, security guarantees, more meetings – key points of the multilateral summit

Washington, Aug. 19 (AP) - During their second meeting this year in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump said the United States would be ready to support European efforts to oversee any peace agreement in Ukraine, as the country's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, expressed his gratitude and was dressed more formally this time.

Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance kept his mouth shut.

As Trump hosted Zelensky and key European leaders to revive months-old, US-led diplomatic efforts to end Russia's nearly three-and-a-half-year war, the tone and style of the meeting were starkly different from the last time, when the Ukrainian president abruptly left the White House in February.

After the talks, Trump also had a long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was welcomed with a red carpet at the summit held last Friday in Alaska, to discuss this extraordinary meeting of allies.

Trump has announced that he will now work to organize the meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

 Trump says US can provide security guarantees to Ukraine

The essential question for the peace talks is how to prevent potential Russian aggression in the future.

Trump has ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, a move that would provide the war-torn country with the protection of the military alliance.

However, he has expressed support for providing security guarantees to Ukraine — although the details still remain unclear.

"European countries want to provide protection and they feel this need very much, and we will help them with that," Trump said.

This somewhat pleased Zelensky, who considered the US to be giving a "strong signal."

With European states looking to create a peacekeeping force that could back up any peace deal in Ukraine, Trump has suggested that Putin might be open to accepting security guarantees.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff stressed on Sunday that official Moscow was open to a specific type of defense for Ukraine, which is similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty.

European leaders have welcomed this idea, as well as the broader significance it reflects.

"When we talk about security guarantees, we are talking about the security of the entire European continent," French President Emmanuel Macron said.

Macron added that talks to understand what the US is willing to offer will begin on Tuesday.

European leaders praise Trump, but there is still work to be done

Europeans flocked to Washington to show their unity over Ukraine, and many used public statements to praise Trump. This was surprising, given the tensions that had previously existed over Trump's threats to impose high tariffs and other issues.

Before their meeting, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called Trump "dear Donald" and said of the war in Ukraine that "if we play this well, we can end it."

In an interview with the American broadcaster "Fox News Channel", Rutte described Trump as "extraordinary", while emphasizing that no possible exchange of territories for Ukraine had been discussed.

"First of all, we need complete clarity on safety guidelines," Rutte said.

Although Ukraine may not join NATO, he has underlined that there will be discussions about security guarantees, which are similar to those offered to member countries of the alliance.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said after the meeting that there was "real progress" but also "a strong sense of unity."

Before the leaders held private talks at the White House, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said all parties were working together towards a "just and lasting peace."

More measured in tone was German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that "the way is now open" for a halt to the fighting, although the next steps are "more complicated."

"Let's try to put pressure on Russia," Merz said, adding that he would like to see a ceasefire agreed upon first.

After these comments, Trump remained noncommittal, saying "if we can get a ceasefire, great," but suggesting that this was not an essential condition.

He has dropped his desire for a ceasefire after Friday's summit, aligning himself with Putin's position that negotiations should focus on direct peace agreements.

Russia controls all of Crimea, as well as most of the four regions

The positive atmosphere radiated from both Zelensky and Trump. After the Ukrainian leader praised him for the "very good conversation" he had with Trump, the US president responded by saying he "very much appreciated" his counterpart's comments.

Speaking to reporters on Monday evening, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Russia's demand that Ukraine give up unoccupied parts of the eastern Donbas region to end the fighting would be equivalent to the US giving up Florida.

More formal attire – and a completely different reception – for Zelensky

The meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday was very different from the one six months ago, when Trump and Vance had sharply criticized Zelensky for being ingratitude for US military support.

At the time, Trump seemed to enjoy the comments of a conservative journalist, who then asked Zelensky why he wasn't wearing a suit to the White House.

The Ukrainian leader came more prepared this time, wearing a black shirt and a jacket.

The same journalist complimented Zelensky, telling him that "you look fantastic," while Trump himself responded that he "thinks the same thing."

Then, Trump reminded Zelensky that “this is the same journalist who attacked you last time.” The Ukrainian president said he remembered, even jokingly telling the journalist in question that “you’re in the same suit, I changed and you didn’t.”

Zelensky has also expressed gratitude to the US and European allies for supporting his country, repeatedly thanking First Lady Melania Trump for the letter she sent to Putin regarding the ban on the killing and abduction of children during the war.

And during the Oval Office meeting, JD Vance did not make any public comments.

Next steps in negotiations turn to Putin

Trump, who insisted on numerous occasions during the campaign that he could resolve the war in Ukraine within "24 hours," said several times on Monday that the situation was much more complicated than he had ever thought.

However, he has suggested — perhaps improbably — that the fighting that has dragged on for years may soon end.

"Within a week or two weeks we will understand whether we are going to resolve this, or whether this terrible war is going to continue," Trump stressed, also claiming that the issues that remain to be clarified are not "very complicated."

However, many issues remain unresolved, including red lines that do not match — such as whether Ukraine will cede any territory to Russia, what the future of the Ukrainian military will look like, and whether the country will receive security guarantees that are both sustainable and meaningful.

Trump announced that he had already begun preparations for a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

But Russian foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said only that Putin and Trump had a 40-minute phone call and "spoke in favor of continuing direct talks between the parties," the Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Outside the White House, Zelensky said no date had yet been set for such a meeting, but the US had suggested it would be held soon.

"But for this, the consent of all parties is required," Zelensky said. "It's a matter that we will leave only between me and Putin."

Although many European leaders are against bypassing the ceasefire condition on the path to lasting peace, they have supported the trilateral meeting between Trump, Zelensky, and Putin.

Macron has suggested that the next summit could include the three presidents and also key European leaders.

"The ideas for a trilateral meeting are very important, because this is the only way to solve this," the French president argued.

Trump's 40-minute conversation with Putin, between meeting with Zelensky and the Europeans

Photo: Archive

Photo: Associated Press

US President Donald Trump, in between meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Europeans, called Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was later revealed that the reason for the call was to agree on a Trump-Putin-Zelensky trilateral meeting.

But Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov gave other details about the call, saying it lasted about 40 minutes.

Ushakov said Putin and Trump discussed the idea of "continuing direct talks" between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations - although a specific location for the meetings was not mentioned.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants the next phase of talks between Russia and Ukraine to be held in a "neutral" location, suggesting Geneva.

"The idea of increasing the level of representatives from the Ukrainian and Russian sides in the talks was discussed," Ushakov said in a video posted on Telegram, speaking about the phone call between the two presidents.

Ushakov said Putin and Trump spoke for 40 minutes after the US president's meeting with Zelensky on Monday, and "the conversation was sincere and very constructive."

Former Russian President: Europeans Failed to Fool Trump

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that European leaders failed to deceive US President Donald Trump during a multilateral summit held in Washington on Monday evening (local time in Kosovo), Reuters wrote.

"The coalition of the willing, the instigator of the war against Russia, failed to deceive @POTUS on his own turf," Medvedev wrote on the social network X. "Europe thanked him and is servile to him."

Medvedev further added that the main question is "what melody" Zelensky would play "about guarantees and territories in the homeland, once he puts on his green military uniform again."

Trump told Zelensky on Monday that the United States would help ensure Ukraine's security in any deal to end the war, but the extent of the assistance was not immediately clear.

Special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff claimed a few days ago that the United States had succeeded in convincing Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide Ukraine with at least security guarantees similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty.

Trump tells Macron the "secret" about Putin, forgets the microphone was on

A microphone accidentally released has revealed new details from talks at the White House between US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders.

The microphone caught Trump telling Macron details that are thought to be from a meeting he had with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I think he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) wants to make a deal," Trump whispered to Macron. "I think he wanted to make a deal for me, you understand that? As unbelievable as it sounds."

This provided new details about the Trump-Putin meeting, although such have not been made public. 

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Trump and special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, both participants in Friday's summit, have claimed to have managed to convince Putin that US and other NATO forces would come to Ukraine's defense if Moscow violates any condition of a potential peace deal.

At Monday night's meeting, the parties agreed on a trilateral meeting to be held within the month of August.

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What European leaders said about the meeting with Trump and Zelensky

Photo: Associated Press

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that talks with US President Donald Trump and European leaders "were the best so far" and that he is ready "for a bilateral meeting with Putin."

What other European leaders who were at the White House said at this meeting:

British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said he was “extremely pleased” with the results of the meeting, which demonstrated a “real sense of unity” among the leaders. He stressed that “no decision should be made on Ukraine without Ukraine.”

German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has asked Trump to “put pressure on Russia for a ceasefire.” “I can’t imagine the next meeting taking place without a ceasefire,” he said. Putin has agreed to a bilateral meeting within the next two weeks, Merz said.

French President Emmanuel Macron echoed Merz's comments about a ceasefire, but also said that European military forces should help Ukraine "with their feet on the ground."

The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, was more cautious and said that "there has been nothing concrete" about US participation in security guarantees for Ukraine. Regarding a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Putin, he said that the Russian leader "cannot be trusted."

The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, said that one of the most important questions was "how to be sure that this will not happen again, what is the prerequisite for any kind of peace."

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has called for the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, saying that "the human costs of this war must end."

NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, has called Trump a "pragmatic peacemaker" and said the leaders will work on providing the guarantee in the coming days.

Russia continues attacks even after talks at the White House

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders held talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, Russian attacks on Ukraine have not stopped.

The Russian military has reportedly attacked the Poltava region of Ukraine, causing power outages for many homes and damaging several administrative buildings, the region's governor said.

No casualties have been reported yet, but approximately 1,500 homes and 119 businesses were left without power in the Lubny district, the BBC reported.

Meanwhile in Russia, debris from downed Ukrainian drones caused fires at an oil refinery and on the roof of a hospital in the Volgograd region, according to the administration of this region in southwestern Russia.

Russia's civil aviation authority announced on the Telegram social network that flights to and from Volgograd were suspended for about three hours overnight.

Highlights from Trump's discussion with Zelensky and the Europeans

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several other European leaders arrived at the White House on Monday to meet with US President Donald Trump as part of new talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Below you can find some of the key points of this multilateral summit, formulated by the British media outlet BBC.

A Putin-Zelensky meeting on the horizon?

US President Donald Trump announced that he had called Vladimir Putin to arrange bilateral talks between the Russian leader and Zelensky. After that, there would be a trilateral meeting that would include Trump himself.

Trump and Europeans disagree on ceasefire

Trump appeared to downplay the importance of a ceasefire ahead of further negotiations to end the war, which was opposed by European leaders. “I can’t imagine the next meeting happening without a ceasefire,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “So let’s work on that and try to put pressure on Russia.”

Trump signals security guarantees

Trump has said the US would help guarantee Ukraine's security. This is the most decisive statement he has ever made on the issue, which is also a key concern for Ukraine. It is not yet clear what form these guarantees would take, as possibilities include: foreign troops on the ground, joint naval and air patrols, intelligence sharing or logistical support.

Zelensky launches his graceful offensive

In a marked change from his previous tense visit to the White House, Zelensky appeared calmer and more polite on Monday, dressed in a suit, with a personal letter from his wife and several successive "thank yous" in the first minutes of the meeting.