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Zelensky to head to Washington following lengthy phone call after Trump and Putin held 'extremely productive' talks

Zelensky to head to Washington following lengthy phone call after Trump and Putin held 'extremely productive' talks

Sky News AUa day ago
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced he will fly to Washington on Monday to meet Donald Trump, following the US President's 'extremely productive' meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Mr Zelensky said he had been invited to the White House following a 'long and substantive' conversation with Mr Trump which lasted for over 90 minutes.
The call later involved Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, leaders from Germany, France, Finland, Italy and Poland, as well as Nato's Mark Rutte and Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission.
The Ukrainian President said his nation reaffirms its 'readiness' to work with maximum effort to achieve peace, after he was informed by Mr Trump of the main points he discussed with Mr Putin.
'It is important that America's strength has an impact on the development of the situation. We support President Trump's proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the USA, and Russia,' Mr Zelensky said on X.
'Ukraine emphasizes that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this.
'On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war. I am grateful for the invitation.
'It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America. We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine's security.'
Mr Zelensky added Ukraine will continue to coordinate positions with all partners, while thanking everyone for helping to achieve peace.
The last time the leaders of Ukraine and the US met on February 28 in Washington it turned fiery.
Mr Trump accused Mr Zelensky of being "disrespectful" to the US - something the Ukrainian leader rejected - adding: "Your people are very brave, but you're either going to make a deal or we're out. And if we're out, you'll fight it out."
On March 4, Mr Zelensky released a statement on social media describing the White House meeting as "regrettable". Adding it is "time to make things right", and work under Trump's "strong leadership" to achieve lasting peace.
Mr Zelensky's announcement comes after Mr Trump and Mr Putin held a high-stakes summit in Alaska, described as 'extremely productive', though the meeting concluded without a formal agreement to halt the war in Ukraine.
Addressing reporters at a joint press conference, Mr Trump said, 'We had an extremely productive meeting,' but cautioned, "There's no deal until there's a deal."
He said both sides had made 'great progress' over the course of the talks, held on US soil at a military base near Anchorage.
Mr Putin opened the press conference with a nod to history, noting the close geographic ties between the two nations.
'They're only 4km apart. We're close neighbours, and that's a fact,' he said.
The Russian President hinted at the possibility of holding another summit, but on Russian soil.
'Thank you very much Vladimir,' Mr Trump said as they left the podiums.
'Next time in Moscow,' Mr Putin replied.
'Oh, that's an interesting one. I'd get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening,' Mr Trump responded.
Despite the meeting, Russian troops reportedly attacked Ukraine with an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 85 military drones.
While Russia claimed it had shot down 29 Ukrainian drones too overnight.
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