Zelensky to bring 6 European leaders with him to | Political News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump flanked by six European and NATO leaders.

These leaders are rallying behind Zelensky in a show of unity for the high-stakes Washington assembly aimed at resolving Russia‘s battle in Ukraine.

Trump (*6*)posted about the assembly on his Truth Social account, writing, “Big day at the White House tomorrow. Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honor to host them!!!”

Leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Finland will stand with Zelensky, who was beforehand disregarded of Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin. Their pledge to accompany the Ukrainian president to the White House goals to guarantee a smoother assembly than the one in February.

During that earlier encounter, Trump and Zelensky had a tense exchange in the Oval Office.

“The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated, and so they want to support Mr. Zelensky to the hilt,” commented retired French General Dominique Trinquand, former head of France’s navy mission at the United Nations. “It’s a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump.”

Trump described his latest summit with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, as “productive,” but admitted they failed to attain an settlement. “There is no deal until there’s a deal,” he told reporters post-meeting.

According to Steve Witkoff, particular U.S. envoy to the Middle East, the 2 leaders agreed that the U.S. and its European allies may doubtlessly offer Ukraine a security guarantee akin to NATO’s protection mandate as half of a future deal to end the warfare.

“[It] was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that,” Witkoff told GWN, who called the settlement “game-changing.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said the leaders will ask Trump to back plans they’ve created to strengthen Ukraine‘s armed forces with more training and gear.

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“We need a credible format for the Ukrainian army, that’s the first point, and say — we Europeans and Americans — how we’ll train them, equip them, and finance this effort in the long-term,” said Macron.

The proposals also demand an allied presence in Ukraine, positioned away from fight zones, to guarantee stability in Kyiv.

The “a number of thousand males on the ground in Ukraine in the zone of peace” would imply that “our fates are linked,” Macron said in a two-hour video call on Sunday.

“This is what we must discuss with the Americans: Who is ready to do what?” he said. “Otherwise, I think the Ukrainians simply cannot accept commitments that are theoretical.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a press convention with Zelensky in Brussels that “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.”

Nevertheless, the coalition may appear overly aggressive, as though they’re “ganging up on Trump,” warned Neil Melvin, director of worldwide security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. “Trump won’t want to be put in a corner.”

Zelensky has been emphasizing the essential function of U.S. and European involvement in the negotiations.

“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,” he said during a press convention.

“But there are certain things that are in short supply and are only available in the United States.”

He also countered Trump’s stance that Russia and Ukraine ought to negotiate a full end to the warfare, moderately than agreeing to a ceasefire first. Zelensky argued that a ceasefire would offer a respite to focus on Putin’s calls for.

“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.”