U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are set to meet on Monday, August 18, in Washington, D.C., to discuss the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Zelenskyy, however, will not be attending alone—he will be accompanied by several top European leaders.
The meeting in Washington comes on the heels of Trump’s recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The White House described that summit as “historic,” and Trump called it a “great and very successful day” in a post on Truth Social.
This would be Zelenskyy’s first visit to the US after his meeting with Trump in February that ended in a showdown as the latter even said that the Ukrainian President was “not ready for peace”. At the time, the two sides were reportedly expected to sign an agreement that would have given the US rights to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals reserves in exchange for support in Russian conflict.
To reportedly save Zelenskyy from another such incident, the European leaders are now planning to attend the high stakes meeting.
Who Will Attend Washington Meeting?
The President of Ukraine could be accompanied by several European leaders including:
1- Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Union Commission in a post on X stated, “At the request of President Zelenskyy, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders in the White House tomorrow.”
2- President of the Republic of Finland
Alexander Stubb will also participate in the meeting in Washington D.C., United States
3- French President Emmanuel Macron, in a post on X, said that European leaders were aligned in stating, “that any lasting peace must be accompanied by unwavering security guarantees. I welcome, in this regard, the readiness of the United States to contribute. We will work on this with them and with all our partners in the Coalition of the Willing, with whom we will meet again soon, to make concrete progress.”
4- Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer also showed his support to Ukraine and spoke with both Trump and Zelenskyy. He could also be reportedly present in the meeting in US.
5- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also confirmed his visit in a post on X, stating that the leaders will exchange views on the status of peace efforts, security guarantees, territorial issues, and further support for Ukraine.
“Tomorrow I will travel with President @ZelenskyyUa and other European heads of state and government to Washington. We will exchange views with US President Trump on the status of peace efforts, security guarantees, territorial issues, and further support for Ukraine,” Merz posted.
Zelenskyy posted on X, “I thank our partners who are helping. Today, there is an important statement from European leaders that strengthens our position. We continue working together – Europeans, Americans, and everyone in the world who wants peace and stability in international relations.”
The much-anticipated truce talks were held between the United States and Russia in Alaska to discuss bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine.