A photograph of European leaders surrounding Donald Trump‘s desk ‘like school children’ during Monday’s Ukraine peace talks has gone viral, with critics pointing out that it neatly encapsulates US-European power dynamics.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer joined French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb around the Resolute Desk on Monday.
They were flanked by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Trump’s staff looking on in the background.
‘A historic day at the White House as European leaders joined President Trump in the Oval Office,’ the White House said, sharing the photo on X, in a post on Tuesday.
European leaders had gathered in Washington a day prior to vouch for Ukraine and plead with Trump to back a motion to offer Kyiv concrete security guarantees in the event of a peace deal with Russia.
American commentator and YouTuber Benny Johnson posted the picture on X and wrote: ‘The single most powerful image of 2025: President Trump at the Resolute Desk with world leaders crowding around him, just listening. Nothing else comes close.’
Zelensky returned to the Oval Office on Monday for the first time since February – the disastrous summit in which he was asked to leave after being challenged by U.S. Vice President JD Vance on his gratitude for continued American support.
This time, the Ukrainian premier insisted upon expressing his thanks several times and deftly navigated the American press with humour before heading for talks with Trump and his European counterparts.
A new picture showing European leaders hanging on Donald Trump’s every word while sitting around the Resolute Desk has been criticised as a display of power
European leaders sit before Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, August 18, 2025
Ashok Swain, a Swedish professor of peace and conflict research, said: ‘Europe’s ‘most powerful’ leaders sat like obedient pupils as Donald Trump held court in the Oval Office. Does this look Europe to Europeans?’
One user said: ‘All of them came to support Zelensky and not Trump.’
Another said: ‘We are watching history being made right in front of our eyes. Look at all the world leaders in the Oval Office with all eyes on Trump.’
A third, joking about Trump and the US’s authority, said: ‘He called them over the weekend and said, ‘Be here on Monday.’ They all showed up. America is back.’
European leaders have been trying to steer Trump towards a lasting ceasefire palatable to Ukraine and the continent since he took office.
It was Italy’s Giorgia Meloni who first raised the idea that non-parties to the war could offer Ukraine security guarantees resembling NATO’s Article 5 pledge of collective defence, even if Trump is unwilling to welcome Kyiv into the alliance.
Trump’s administration in recent days appears to have warmed to the idea, though has ruled out putting U.S. boots on the ground as part of a major peacekeeping force.
Ahead of Monday’s talks in Washington with Zelensky, which followed Trump’s historic summit with Putin in Alaska, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made clear it was inviting European leaders as friends and allies, not as ‘backup’ against bullying.
President Donald Trump speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer before their multilateral meeting, Monday, August 18, 2025
President Donald Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, Monday, August 18, 2025, in the Oval Office
Zelensky was harangued by Trump and his Vice President during their meeting in February, but Monday’s talks appeared to go better.
Still, neither the meeting with Putin nor Zelensky has yet yielded definitive progress towards ending the war.
Trump is trying to steer Putin and Zelenskyy toward a settlement more than three years after Russia invaded its neighbor, but there are major obstacles.
They include Ukraine’s demands for Western-backed military assurances to ensure Russia won’t mount another invasion in coming years.
Kyiv’s European allies are looking to set up a force that could backstop any peace agreement, and a coalition of 30 countries, including European nations, Japan and Australia, have signed up to support the initiative.
The viral photos of European leaders in the White House prompted comparison to a 2018 photo of leaders roused and on their feet around Donald Trump – indicative, some said, of the changing state of international affairs.
In that picture, former German Chancellor Merkel, flanked by other world leaders, is seen standing over Trump, who is seated with his arms crossed.
Some users on social media compared the picture to that of Trump and Angela Merkel in discussion at the G7 summit in Canada in 2018
Some critics believe Donald Trump used the day to display his authority on the world stage
After Monday’s meeting, Trump announced that plans were underway for a trilateral meeting involving himself, Zelensky, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, although Moscow’s response remained cautious.
Zelensky expressed optimism and gratitude, while European leaders reiterated that no serious peace could proceed without Russia halting hostilities.
Discussions also touched on a proposed $90 billion weapons package for Ukraine.
Yesterday, top Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev mocked EU leaders and said they were sucking up to Trump.
He wrote on X: ‘The anti-Russian warmongering Coalition of the Willing failed to outplay [Trump] on his turf. Europe thanked & sucked up to him.’
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