Zelensky-Trump meeting: European leaders to join Ukraine President in Washington for talks

Securing a ceasefire in the continent has taken centre stage among European leaders, as they are set to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his visit to Washington on August 17, seeking to push talks with United States President Donald Trump on the matter, according to an AFP report.

This comes after Donald Trump ruled out any immediate breakthrough on a ceasefire in Ukraine, after holding a summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that did not include Ukraine or other European countries, it added. The peace deal had been a core issue before the summit.

Ukraine, allies criticise halt on ceasefire talks

The AFP report added that Ukraine and its European allies have criticised the pause on ceasefire talks as a way to buy time and allow for Russia's battlefield advances. Among those who have expressed their displeasure include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and others.

Posting on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), von der Leyen said she would welcome Zelensky for a meeting in Brussels on August 16. The meet will also see participation from other European leaders, who will then join the Ukrainian leader on his trip to the US, at his “request”.

This was confirmed by the German government, which stated that Merz is among the European contingent bound to Washington, who will try to emphasise “interest in a swift peace agreement in Ukraine”.

Further, the government of Finland also confirmed that its president, Alexander Stubb, would be among the crew.

‘No ceasefire, will move directly to peace deal’?

In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump wrote that ceasefire agreements “often times do not hold up”. The report added that after meeting with Putin, Donald Trump briefed Zelensky and other European leaders that “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”.

However, Zelensky appeared unconvinced, posting on X that this development “complicates the situation” and that if Moscow lacks “the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater — peaceful coexistence with its neighbours for decades”.

What are Russia's demands for peace deal?

An official told AFP that Donald Trump extended support for Putin's proposal to Zelensky and the other European leaders on call. The demand includes:

• Full control of two largely Russian-held Ukrainian regions in exchange for freezing the frontline in two others.
• Putin “de facto demands that Ukraine leave Donbas”, an area consisting of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine, the source added.
• In exchange, Russian forces would halt their offensive in the Black Sea port region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, where the main cities are still under Ukrainian control.

Focus now on Zelensky back in White House

The main diplomatic focus now switches to Zelensky's talks at the White House on August 17. The last time when he was in the Oval Office in February, the meeting ended in an extraordinary shouting match, with Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berating Zelensky for not showing enough gratitude for US aid.

In an interview with broadcaster Fox News after his sit-down with Putin, the US president suggested that the onus was now on Zelensky to secure a peace deal as they work towards an eventual trilateral summit with Putin. “It's really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” Donald Trump said.

European pressure for ceasefire to continue

In an earlier statement, European leaders welcomed the plan for a Trump-Putin-Zelensky summit but added that they would maintain pressure on Russia in the absence of a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine raged on, with both Kyiv and Moscow launching attack drones at each other August 16.

Back in Moscow, Putin said his summit talks with Trump had been “timely” and “very useful”. In his post-summit statement in Alaska, Putin had warned Ukraine and European countries not to engage in any “behind-the-scenes intrigues” that could disrupt what he called “this emerging progress”.

(With inputs from AFP)