Leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the EU, NATO arrive to support Zelensky at White House meeting
Ukraine’s future could hinge on the hastily assembled meeting Monday, says The Associated Press.
The European leaders, who were left out of President Trump’s summit with Russian President Putin on Friday, are seeking to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any expanding aggression from Russia.
And they hope to avoid any debacles like Zelensky’s February meeting in the Oval Office, where Trump criticized him for not showing enough gratitude for U.S. military aid.
Trump had gone to the Friday summit pressing for a ceasefire deal and threatening “severe consequences” and tough new sanctions if Putin failed to agree to halt the fighting in Ukraine, says a separate AP article.
But Trump dropped his demand for a ceasefire in favor of pursuing a full peace accord — a position in line with Putin’s.
European leaders’ reactions were measured, but many experts have called the summit a win for Putin.
Under peace proposals discussed by Putin and Trump, Russia would relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine, and Ukraine would cede swathes of its eastern land that Russia has been unable to capture, Reuters reports.
Putin’s ruling out a ceasefire until a comprehensive deal is reached blocked a key demand of Zelensky, whose country is being hit daily by Russian drones and ballistic missiles, says Reuters.