Their commitment to accompany Zelenskyy to the White House on Monday appears aimed at preventing a repeat of the tense Oval Office encounter in February, when Trump berated the Ukrainian leader
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R) and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hold a video-conference with European leaders on Sunday. PIC/AFP
European and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders on Sunday announced they will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington for talks with Donald Trump on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, with the possibility of US-backed security guarantees now part of the discussions, news agency AP reported.
European heavyweights including France, Britain and Germany are rallying around Zelenskyy after his exclusion from US President Trump’s summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. Their commitment to accompany Zelenskyy to the White House on Monday appears aimed at preventing a repeat of the tense Oval Office encounter in February, when Trump berated the Ukrainian leader.
“The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr Zelenskyy to the hilt,” said retired French General Dominique Trinquand, former head of France’s military mission at the United Nations, adding, “It’s a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump.”
Special US envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Putin agreed during the Alaska meeting with Trump to allow the US and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defence mandate as part of an eventual peace deal, reported AP.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking alongside Zelenskyy in Brussels, said, “We welcome President Trump’s willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. And the Coalition of the willing—including the European Union—is ready to do its share.”
Von der Leyen was joined by French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish President Alexander Stubb in pledging their participation in Monday’s White House talks, along with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
The show of European support could ease concerns in Kyiv and other capitals that Ukraine may be pressured into a peace deal favoured by Trump and Russia.
Neil Melvin, director of international security at London’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said European leaders are trying to “shape this fast-evolving agenda.” After the Alaska summit, the focus appears to have shifted from a ceasefire toward Putin’s goal of blocking Ukraine’s NATO or EU membership.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press that a ceasefire is “not off the table,” but said a full peace deal would be the best way to end the war.
Putin has resisted meeting Zelenskyy in person, suggesting such a meeting can only occur once groundwork for a peace deal is laid. He also warned that Kyiv and other European capitals could “create obstacles” to derail negotiations with “behind-the-scenes intrigue.”
Zelenskyy continues to stress the importance of both US and European involvement. “A security guarantee is a strong army. Only Ukraine can provide that. Only Europe can finance this army, and weapons for this army can be provided by our domestic production and European production. But there are certain things that are in short supply and are only available in the United States,” he said alongside Von der Leyen on Sunday.
Zelenskyy also countered Trump’s and Putin’s preference to negotiate a full end to the war immediately, saying a ceasefire would allow space to assess Russia’s demands. “It’s impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons,” he said. “Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it.”
(With AP inputs)
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
