WASHINGTON — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon on the White Home, simply days after Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin left an Alaska summit with no ceasefire deal.
Zelenskyy is touring to Washington, D.C., alongside a number of European leaders, together with European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-Normal Mark Rutte, U.Ok. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Trump’s sit-down with the leaders will come as he’s intensified his efforts in latest weeks to finish the struggle in Ukraine, a greater than three-year battle he insists wouldn’t have taken place had he been in workplace.
Following his assembly with Putin, Trump shifted his intention towards establishing a full-fledged “peace settlement” between Russia and Ukraine, bemoaning ceasefire agreements as unstable. On the identical time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned Sunday on NBC Information’ “Meet the Press” {that a} ceasefire was “not off the desk,” although Russia has not agreed to cease combating.
In a submit to Fact Social Sunday night time, Trump appeared to position the onus of ending the struggle on Zelenskyy, whereas emphasizing that Ukraine should quit Russian-annexed Crimea and its hopes of becoming a member of NATO — a key demand from Putin.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can finish the struggle with Russia virtually instantly, if he needs to, or he can proceed to struggle,” Trump mentioned.
A day earlier, Trump indicated in a submit on Saturday that if talks with Zelenskyy are profitable on Monday, he’ll facilitate additional discussions with Putin in hopes of reaching a everlasting finish to the struggle.
The assembly will give the leaders the chance to debate future safety ensures for Ukraine, which U.S. particular envoy Steve Witkoff floated as doubtlessly wanting just like NATO’s Article 5.
Ukraine hoped to make use of the assembly to barter an ironclad safety assure, just like Article 5, and persuade Trump {that a} non permanent ceasefire is important to start actual peace talks, in line with a Ukrainian supply aware of the objectives. The safety ensures must be treaty-level obligations, the supply mentioned, which require Senate approval.
A GOP lawmaker who declined to be recognized echoed the necessity for U.S. safety ensures.
Equally, a European official mentioned that the assembly can be centered partly on clarifying what safety ensures would seem like. Trump has floated land “swapping,” however the official mentioned that their perception was that Ukraine would by no means quit all of its japanese Donbas area, a lot of which Russia controls. Europe, the official mentioned, would additionally doubtless wish to take part in any remaining negotiations for a peace settlement.
Zelenskyy mentioned in a submit on X late Sunday that he had arrived in Washington. “I’m assured that we’ll defend Ukraine, successfully assure safety, and that our individuals will all the time be grateful to President Trump,” he mentioned. He emphasised that “Russia should finish this struggle, which it itself began.”
The Ukrainian president’s go to might be his first to the White Home since a February assembly devolved into a surprising confrontation between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy. The second, which performed out dwell on tv, shocked Ukrainian allies and marked a pointy shift in the US’ years-long assist for an ally embroiled in a bloody struggle that started with Russia’s invasion.
Monday’s assembly comes after the White Home welcomed Putin to Alaska, a controversial transfer that garnered additional criticism when the U.S. rolled out a pink carpet for Putin and took the controversial step of permitting the Russian autocrat to trip privately with Trump in “The Beast,” a presidential car.
The assembly, which excluded Zelenskyy, in the end concluded with no ceasefire deal. The leaders departed Alaska after internet hosting a 12-minute press occasion the place they didn’t take questions or announce deliverables.
Trump introduced his assembly with Zelenskyy within the early hours of Saturday morning, including in a submit to Fact Social that “if all works out, we are going to then schedule a gathering with President Putin.”
The way forward for main sticking factors in discussions to finish the struggle — the standing of Russian-occupied Ukrainian land and safety ensures to forestall a future Russian invasion — remained murky over the weekend.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned Sunday that there “must be some safety ensures for Ukraine,” noting that the problem can be mentioned “over the subsequent few days.” Witkoff mentioned Sunday that safety ensures may resemble NATO’s Article 5, which triggers a response by your entire coalition if one member is attacked.
In an interview on “Fox Information Sunday,” Witkoff mentioned that “the US is doubtlessly ready to have the ability to give Article 5 safety ensures, however not from NATO, instantly from the US and different European nations.”
The Ukrainian president celebrated what he referred to as “a historic determination” for the U.S. to take part in safety ensures, saying in a submit to X on Sunday that they “should actually be very sensible, delivering safety on land, within the air, and at sea, and have to be developed with Europe’s participation.”
Zelenskyy may even have the chance throughout Monday’s assembly to deal with Trump’s feedback on the way forward for Ukrainian land occupied by Russia.
Within the days forward of the Alaska summit, Trump mentioned that an finish to the struggle would come with “some swapping of territories.” Zelenskyy promptly shot down the prospect, saying that “Ukrainians won’t give their land to the occupier.”
Rubio mentioned Sunday on NBC Information’ “Meet the Press” that “nobody is pushing Ukraine to present that up,” referring to land occupied by Russia. However later that morning, Trump appeared to undercut Rubio’s remarks when he reposted a Fact Social consumer who declared, “Ukraine have to be keen to lose some territory to Russia in any other case the longer the struggle goes on they are going to maintain shedding much more land!!”
Trump left his assembly with Putin with out saying any ceasefire or peace agreements. The president instructed reporters on his method to Alaska that “I’m not going to be joyful” if the assembly didn’t result in a ceasefire. He additionally mentioned that Russia would face “economically extreme” penalties if Putin didn’t appear serious about peace.
Nevertheless, Rubio mentioned Sunday on “Meet the Press” that he didn’t imagine “new sanctions on Russia are going to power him to simply accept the ceasefire.”
Witkoff defended the president after he did not safe a ceasefire, saying on “Fox Information Sunday” {that a} ceasefire usually precedes a peace deal, and “the president has all the time talked a couple of ceasefire till he made plenty of completely different wins on this assembly and commenced to appreciate that we could possibly be speaking a couple of peace deal.”
“The final word deal here’s a peace deal,” Witkoff added.
Trump’s Friday assembly with Putin was a stark distinction from Zelenskyy’s February journey to the White Home, when Trump and Vance publicly berated Zelenskyy, arguing he was not grateful sufficient for U.S. assist.
“You’re playing with World Conflict III, and what you doing could be very disrespectful to the nation, this nation, that’s backed you,” Trump instructed Zelenskyy on the time. The assembly was in the end lower brief.
The 2 leaders have met since then, although not on the White Home. Trump and Zelenskyy met on the Vatican in April on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral, they usually met once more privately on the NATO summit in June.
Trump has beforehand falsely referred to as Zelenskyy a “dictator” and falsely accused Ukraine of beginning the struggle. The struggle started when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
