Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has expressed his readiness to join United States president, Donald Trump and Russian leader, Vladimir Putin in a joint summit aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Zelensky made the declaration during an unscheduled meeting with the US president at the White House, which followed Trump’s recent talks with Putin.
When Trump floated the idea of a three-way gathering if progress was made, Zelensky replied: “We are ready for trilateral,” according to the Independent.
The White House encounter stood in stark contrast to the strained atmosphere of their February meeting, with both leaders striking a far more conciliatory tone.
Trump described himself as “honoured” to host European leaders in Washington, where heads of state from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the EU and NATO had assembled to demonstrate support for Ukraine.
“We’re going to work with Ukraine. We’re going to work with everybody, and we’re going to make sure that if there’s peace, the peace is going to stay long term,” Trump told reporters. “We’re not talking about a two-year peace… We’re going to work with Russia. We’re going to work with Ukraine. We’re going to make sure it works. And I think if we can get to peace, it’s going to work. I have no doubt about it.”
Moscow quickly issued a statement warning it would “oppose any scenarios” that allowed NATO troops to be stationed in Ukraine, dampening speculation that Putin might be open to providing Kyiv with security guarantees.
Addressing that concern, Trump stressed Europe would serve as the “first line of defence” in any deal, with Washington offering backing.
He suggested that full NATO membership for Ukraine remained unlikely, adding: “We’re going to be discussing it today, but we will give them very good protection, very good security.”
European leaders, meanwhile, emphasized that any trilateral negotiations must include a ceasefire clause. German chancellor Friedrich Mertz said it was “essential”, while France’s Emmanuel Macron proposed extending the format into a quadrilateral summit “because of the importance to the security of the Continent.”
Ahead of the Washington talks, Zelensky shared on social media, “We must stop the killings, and I thank our partners who are working toward this and ultimately toward a reliable and dignified peace… Ukraine is ready for a real truce and for establishing a new security architecture. We need peace.”
