Donald Trump, a lightning message before the Monday meeting with Zelenski and European leaders: “Some things never change!”
US President Donald Trump said on Monday before his meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelenski and European leaders who went to Washington to discuss peace negotiations with Russia, that Zelenski can conclude “almost” the war, “if he wants this.”
“President Zelenski of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started. There is no way to return-Obama gave Crimea (12 years ago, without a firearm!), And no accession to NATO.” TRUTH Social before the meeting that many analysts see as having the potential to be decisive for the fate of Ukraine.
The White House later announced in a statement that the bilateral meeting between President Trump and President Volodimir Zelenski will take place on Monday, at 8:15 pm, at Romania.
Trump will participate in a multilateral meeting with European leaders visiting Washington at 22:00, Romania time.
Zelenski said he hopes Russia would be forced to accept peace
Volodimir Zelenski arrived on Washington on Sunday night, the Kiev leader declaring on arrival in the US capital that he hopes that the “common force” of Ukraine, United States and European partners will force Russia to accept peace.
“I am grateful to the President of the United States for the invitation. We all want to put an end to this war quickly and permanently,” Zelenski said on social networks, after landing in the US.
“And I hope our common force with America and our European friends will force Russia to accept real peace,” he added.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Sunday that he will be with Ukrainian leader Volodimir Zelenski on Monday at the meeting with Donald Trump from the White House, a meeting that comes after the American-Rus summit on Friday.
Important European leaders went to Washington for Trump-Zenski meeting
Shortly after the announcement, the German government said that Chancellor Friedrich Merz will be present in the Oval Office, and then similar ads have come on the participation of French President Emmanuel Macron and the Finnish, Alexander Stubb, plus that of Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and the British, Keir Starmer.
Also, NATO informed that the secretary-general of the North Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte, will also go to Washington.
Rutte and Stubb are known for the good relationship with the US President, and Meloni, who is nicknamed by some “Trump's tanner”, visited his residence in Mar-A-Lago and was the only European leader invited to the inauguration of January.
Berlin has transmitted that discussions will approach, among other things, security guarantees, territorial issues and continuous support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. This includes maintaining pressure on sanctions ”,
“The visit will be to exchange information with the US President Donald Trump, following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The Merz Chancellor will discuss with the heads of state's efforts and will emphasize Germany's interest in a fast peace agreement in Ukraine,” said the German spokesman.
Also, the French Presidency has transmitted that the leaders present will continue “the coordination work between Europeans and the United States, in order to reach a fair and sustainable peace, to keep the vital interests of Ukraine and the Security of Europe.”
European leaders want to avoid a new siege in the Oval Office
High officials of the Trump administration have previously left to understand that the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine – which is already under Russian control – is at stake, while discussing a kind of defensive pact.
“We managed to obtain the following concession, namely that the United States could provide protection similar to the one provided for in Article 5,” Trump's sending on Sunday at the “State of the Union” show in CNN, suggesting that this would replace the request of Ukraine at NATO. He said that “this is the first time we hear that the Russians agree with this.”
Article 5 of the NATO founding treaty enshrines the principle of collective defense, according to which an attack on any member is considered an attack on all.
This promise may not be sufficient to convince Kiev to give up the donbas. The borders of Ukraine had to be already guaranteed when Ukraine gave up the nuclear arsenal in 1994, which has been shown to be an insufficient discouragement factor when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and launched the large -scale invasion in 2022. The war killed or injured over 1 million people, notes Reuters.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted an allies meeting on Sunday to support Zelenski, especially hoping to obtain solid security guarantees for Ukraine, which also includes the role of the United States.
Europeans are eager to help Zelenski avoid repeating his last meeting in the February Oval Office, when Trump and JD Vance Vice President publicly reprimanded the Ukrainian leader, accusing him of being ungrateful and unpaid.
