Ursula ahead of Zelenskyy-Trump meet: Sanctions to continue until Putin comes to negotiating table
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Indian Express
17 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting LIVE Updates: Zelenskyy lands in Washington for meet with Trump, hopes to reach peace deal to end Russia-Ukraine war
Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting Today LIVE News Updates: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has landed in Washington, is all set to be joined by the European leaders at the White House on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump in order to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war and a possible ceasefire or a quick peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff has said that the US could offer NATO-like protection to Ukraine, and Russia is open to the idea. Trump is leaning on Zelenskyy to strike an agreement and has said the Ukraine president can end the war with Russia immediately if he wants to. Trump-Putin Summit in Alaska: The meeting between Trump and Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday couldn't finalise a deal, however, the Kremlin chief received a red carpet treatment by the US president. The meeting, which was expected to last for about seven hours, wrapped up in three hours and Trump said 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' Putin, meanwhile, cautioned Ukraine and its European allies to not 'torpedo' the progress made by US-Russia talks. Who all are accompanying Zelenskyy: The Ukraine President Zelenskyy's last outing at the Oval Office had turned into an argument with President Trump and he was asked to leave the White House. Ukraine, this time around, finds support from its European allies who are accompanying the country to Washington. The list includes: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, UK PM Keir Starmer, France President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz among others.
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First Post
17 minutes ago
- First Post
Are European leaders travelling to the White House to prevent Trump from bullying Zelenskyy?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is headed to Washington, DC, today (August 18), and he will be accompanied by European leaders, including Germany's Friedrich Merz, the UK's Keir Starmer, and France's Emmanuel Macron. The meeting at the White House comes after US President Donald Trump met Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska last Friday. But why is Zelenskyy going with an influential entourage? US President Donald Trump with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, in February. Six months after that disastrous meeting, the Ukrainian leader will once again meet his US counterpart at the Oval Office on August 18. File image/Reuters In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House only to be berated by his American hosts after which he was abruptly asked to leave the White House. The meeting, six months ago, has gone down in history as, perhaps, one of the most disgraceful episodes in modern-day diplomacy — a national leader was humiliated in front of the cameras in a grilling that the US president said afterwards would make good television. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Now, Zelenskyy is heading back to the White House today (August 18). However, he won't be alone, as an array of European prime ministers and presidents are joining him to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House to make sure that Ukraine's security interests are maintained after Trump-Putin's Alaska summit. More from Explainers Friendly summit with no ceasefire: Putin disarms Trump, neutralises sanctions threats at Alaska summit Who's going to accompany Zelenskyy? What's at stake? We have the answers for you. Why is Zelenskyy heading to Washington today? The meeting at the White House between Trump and Zelenskyy comes after the US president's Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15. While the two leaders billed that meeting as historic, it failed to come up with any immediate solution to the war, which has now dragged on for three-and-a-half years. Zelenskyy first headed to Brussels over the weekend to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a top EU leader, and hold a video call with the other leaders to prepare for the meeting with Trump at the White House. 'It's very important that you are with us and that we speak to America together,' Zelenskyy said in Brussels, standing alongside von der Leyen. 'It's crucial that Europe is as united now as it was at the very beginning—as it was in 2022,' when Russia staged its large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. 'This unity really helps encourage real peace and it must stay strong.' Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen attend a joint press conference in Brussels, on Sunday. AFP Who's going with Zelenskyy to Washington? Following his meeting in Brussels, Zelenskyy will now head to Washington, DC. However, he won't be alone. Accompanying the Ukrainian leader will be UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who many consider to be the 'Trump whisperer'. There's also Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz and France's Emmanuel Macron as well as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, will be a reminder of Europe's combined importance as an economic juggernaut, as The Guardian reported. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will also attend the meeting as will Finland's President Alexander Stubb. Nato's Secretary General Mark Rutte will also be accompanying Zelenskyy to the Oval Office today. Retired French General Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France's military mission at the United Nations, told Sky News that the reason the European leaders were travelling with Zelenskyy is because they are 'very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Zelenskyy to the hilt.' 'It's a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump,' he added. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer will accompany Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House on August 18. File image/Reuters What will all the leaders discuss at the White House today? The European leaders accompanying Zelenskyy to the White House today want to ensure that US President Trump has not pivoted too close to the Russian side, and does not try to strong-arm Zelenskyy into a deal. Even European diplomats, who chose to remain anonymous, told media outlets that the European leaders want to avoid a scene like the one that took place in February when Zelenskyy met with Trump in front of television cameras at the White House. At that meeting, Trump rebuked the Ukrainian president, saying 'you don't have the cards' in the war — essentially telling Ukraine to bend to Russia's demands. The US president did so again on Friday night, after Putin flew back to Russia, telling a Fox News interviewer that Ukraine was going to have to realise that Russia was a more 'powerful' country, and that power meant Zelenskyy was going to have to make concessions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even before Zelenskyy and his European allies made their way to the American capital, Trump indicated that the Ukrainian leader must agree to some of Russia's conditions for the war in Ukraine to end. 'President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,' Trump wrote on social media. 'Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and no going into Nato by Ukraine. Some things never change!!!' US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on August 15. File image/Reuters Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also rejected the notion that the Europeans were coming to protect Zelenskyy from a repeat of the February shouting match. 'They're not coming here to keep Zelenskyy from getting bullied,' Rubio told CBS. 'They are coming here tomorrow because we've been working with the Europeans,' he said, listing the many meetings the United States had engaged in before and after the Putin visit. 'We invited them to come.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It is expected that the leaders will also sit down today to discuss territorial questions, including Russia's demand for Ukraine to cede Donetsk and Luhansk. They are also expected to address security guarantees for Ukraine, which could be backed by US air power. The role of Nato and European allies in enforcing a settlement is likely to be discussed, alongside sanction pressures on Russia. The European leaders also want that Ukraine is at the table for all negotiations. In fact, on the issue of land and territory, EU's Ursula von der Leyen even said on Sunday, 'With regards to any territorial questions in Ukraine, our position is clear: international borders cannot be changed by force. 'These are decisions to be made by Ukraine and Ukraine alone, and these decisions cannot be taken without Ukraine at the table.' There also might be discussions on setting up a trilateral between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy in the near future. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What does Russia want? At the Alaska summit, Putin reportedly stated that Ukraine must surrender Donetsk and Luhansk in full, abandon its Nato aspirations and declare neutrality. He offered to freeze the front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. However, Zelenskyy has rejected any idea of handing over territory to Russia, saying that a ceasefire should be first instituted. According to Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, Putin agreed to allow the US and the European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee. 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato,' he was quoted as telling CNN. He added that it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that' and called them 'game-changing.' For the unaware, Article 5 of Nato states that an armed attack against one or more of the members shall be considered an attack against all members. What happens today is left to be seen, but as Kim Darroch, who was the UK ambassador to Washington in Trump's first term, told The Guardian: 'History will be kind to him (Trump) if he delivers a fair peace in Ukraine; less so if he presses for a capitulation.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
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Business Standard
17 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Ahead of Zelenskyy meet, Trump rules out Crimea return, Nato membership
Ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump said late on Sunday that reclaiming Russian-occupied Crimea or Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were not options. He added that Zelenskyy had the choice to bring the war with Russia to a swift end. "President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!," he wrote on Truth Social. European leaders to join Zelenskyy in Washington European leaders from Germany, France, and Britain will accompany Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Washington, they announced on Sunday. Their presence is intended to strengthen Zelenskyy's position and help him avoid a repeat of his last Oval Office visit in February, when Trump and US Vice President JD Vance publicly rebuked him, accusing him of being ungrateful and disrespectful. Trump said the responsibility now lay with Zelenskyy to build on the Alaska summit and work towards a settlement to end Russia's three-year invasion. Trump-Putin talks in Alaska Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska on Friday, where they identified areas of common ground and revived their rapport. However, no breakthrough on a ceasefire was reached. After three hours of talks with aides that ended abruptly, Trump stated that while progress had been made, stressing that 'there's no deal until we have a deal". The discussions included proposals under which Russia might give up small sections of occupied Ukrainian territory in return for Ukraine ceding fortified areas in the east and freezing the front lines elsewhere. Trump praised both US and Russian negotiators for their work at the summit and pointed to his relationship with Putin. Neither leader took questions, delivering only short statements. Goal to reduce casualties Trump said the key aim of the meeting was to reduce the human toll of the war. 'We're going to stop 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 people a week from being killed, and President Putin wants to see that as much as I do,' he said. The US President criticised reports suggesting a "major defeat" at his Alaska talks with Putin. He described such claims as "fake news" and said the location of the summit itself had been a 'major point of contention'.
