European leaders, including those from Britain, Germany, France and France, will accompany Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet Donald Trump in Washington, they said on Sunday, seeking to bolster him as the US president presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace.
Ahead of the Washington talks on Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were hosting a meeting of allies on Sunday to shore up Zelenskyy’s position, hoping in particular to lock down robust security guarantees for Ukraine that would include a US role.
“At the meeting that will take place at the White House tomorrow, the prime minister, with other European partners, stands ready to support this next phase of further talks and will reaffirm that his backing for Ukraine will continue as long as it takes,” according to a Downing Street statement.
US President Donald Trump is leaning on Ukraine to strike an agreement after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska. The US and Russian leaders discussed proposals for Russia to relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine ceding a swathe of fortified land in the east and freezing the front lines elsewhere, as reported by the news agency Reuters.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also travel to Washington, as will Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, whose access to Trump included rounds of golf in Florida earlier this year. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is an admirer of many of Trump’s policies, will also go to Washington, her office said.
European allies are keen to avoid a repeat of Zelenskyy’s last Oval Office meeting, in February. That went disastrously, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance giving the Ukrainian leader a strong public dressing-down.
Trump said on Friday that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not”.
Trump also said he agreed with Putin that a peace deal should be sought without the prior ceasefire that Ukraine and its European allies have called for. That was a reversal of his position before the summit, when he said he would not be happy unless a ceasefire was agreed on.
– Ends
With inputs from Ruters.
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