Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Washington after summit with Putin secured no deal to end war in Ukraine

West Australian

10 hours ago

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday after Mr Trump's summit with Russia's President Vladimir Putin secured no agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskyy said he held a 'long and substantive' conversation with Mr Trump yesterday afternoon after the US leader met Mr Putin in Alaska. He thanked Mr Trump for an invitation to meet in person and said they would 'discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war'.
Mr Zelenskyy reiterated the importance of involving Europe.
'It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America,' he said. 'We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine's security.'
Mr Zelenskyy said he spoke to Mr Trump one-on-one and then in a call with other European leaders. In total, the conversations lasted an hour and a half.
Mr Trump rolled out the red carpet for Mr Putin in Alaska, but the summit appeared to end without concrete progress on bringing an end to the war.
He posted late last night on his Truth Social site that the best way to end the war is to go directly to a peace accord, rather than first going through a ceasefire.
'It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up,' Mr Trump posted.
The US President earlier said 'there's no deal until there's a deal', after Mr Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an 'understanding' on Ukraine and warned Europe not to 'torpedo the nascent progress'.
During an interview with Fox News before leaving Alaska, Mr Trump insisted that the onus going forward might be on Mr Zelenskyy 'to get it done', but said there would also be some involvement from European nations.
Mr Trump did not speak to reporters on his flight back to Washington. When his plane landed, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Mr Trump was on the phone with NATO leaders after a long call with Mr Zelenskyy.
Uncharacteristically, Mr Trump then disembarked Air Force One without speaking to reporters. He didn't respond to shouted questions about the phone calls as he climbed into his limousine.
Mr Trump spoke with Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European Commission spokeswoman Arianna Podesta said. She gave no details of the conversation.
European leaders who, like Mr Zelenskyy, didn't have a place at the table at the summit, issued a statement later, stating their continue support for Ukraine would continue, as would their pressure on Russia.
'It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force,' the statement said.
Mr Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said on Russian state television a potential trilateral meeting had not been raised in US-Russia discussions.
'The topic has not been touched upon yet,' Mr Ushakov said.
Russian attacks on Ukraine continued, using one ballistic missile and 85 Shahed drones, 61 of which were shot down, Ukraine's Air Force said. Frontline areas of Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Chernihiv were attacked.
The US President had wanted to show off his deal-making skills, while Mr Putin wanted to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia's gains, block Kyiv's bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow's orbit.
'We had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed to,' Mr Trump said while standing next to Mr Putin. 'And there are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there.'
He continued: 'We didn't get there.'
For Mr Putin, just being on US soil for the first time in more than a decade was validation after his ostracisation following his invasion of Ukraine.
His meeting with Mr Trump may stall the economic sanctions the US President had promised unless Moscow worked harder to bring the fighting to a close.
It also may simply lead to more meetings, giving his forces more time to make progress on the battlefield.
Mr Putin said Russia and the United States should 'turn the page and go back to co-operation'. He praised Mr Trump as someone who 'has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows understanding that Russia has its own national interests'. 'I expect that today's agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also mark the beginning of the restoration of businesslike, pragmatic relations between Russia and the US,' Mr Putin said.
Despite not reaching any major breakthrough, Mr Trump ended his remarks by thanking Mr Putin and saying, 'we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon'.
When Mr Putin smiled and offered, 'next time in Moscow', Mr Trump said 'that's an interesting one' and said he might face criticism but 'I could see it possibly happening'.
During the interview with Fox News, Mr Trump bragged Mr Putin echoed many of the US President's long-standing grievances, including about the 2020 US election.
This suggests that Mr Putin, a former KGB officer, may have left Mr Trump with the impression that he'd notched a big win even as he left empty-handed. When Mr Trump and Mr Putin arrived in Alaska, they had greeted each other with a warm handshake, chatting almost like old friends, and gripped hands for an extended period on a red carpet rolled out at the military base. As they chatted, Mr Putin grinned and pointed skyward, where B-2s and F-22s — military aircraft designed to oppose Russia during the Cold War — flew overhead. The two then shared the US presidential limo for a short ride to their meeting site, with Mr Putin offering a broad smile as they rolled past the cameras.
It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies and belied the bloodshed and suffering in the war Mr Putin started in Ukraine. Although not altogether surprising considering their longtime friendly relationship, such outward friendliness likely raised concerns from Mr Zelenskyy and European leaders, who fear Mr Trump is primarily focusing on furthering US interests and not pressing hard enough for Ukraine's.
Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their demands for peace. Mr Putin has long resisted any temporary ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies and a freeze on Ukraine's mobilization efforts, which are conditions rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.
The meeting comes as the war has caused heavy losses on both sides and drained resources. Ukraine has held on far longer than some initially expected since the February 2022 invasion, but it is straining to hold off Russia's much larger army, grappling with bombardments of its cities and fighting for every inch on the over 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line.
Alaska is separated from Russia at its closest point by less than 5km and the international date line.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It continues to play a role today, as planes from the base still intercept Russian aircraft that regularly fly into US airspace.