Overview

• Two sessions at the White House—first a Trump–Zelenskyy bilateral, then a larger meeting with European and NATO leaders—followed Trump’s August 15 talks with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
• Upon arrival, Giorgia Meloni greeted U.S. Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley with a traditional namaste, and the clip spread widely on social media.
• During the East Room meeting, Meloni was filmed rolling her eyes as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pressed for a ceasefire, and the video quickly drew online attention.
• In the policy discussions, Meloni advocated collective defense guarantees for Ukraine modeled on NATO’s Article 5 despite Ukraine remaining outside the alliance.
• Trump said the United States would provide security guarantees for Ukraine without specifying whether that would include U.S. troops.