Washington — President Trump is about to satisfy with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders on the White Home on Monday because the U.S. pursues a long-lasting peace settlement to finish Russia’s struggle in Ukraine.
Mr. Trump introduced the assembly early Saturday, following his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. In a submit on Reality Social, the president stated the assembly with Putin “went very nicely,” including that the identical was true of a cellphone name with Zelenskyy and numerous European leaders after the very fact.
“President Zelenskyy shall be coming to D.C., the Oval Workplace, on Monday afternoon,” Mr. Trump stated. “If all works out, we’ll then schedule a gathering with President Putin.”
European and NATO leaders are anticipated to accompany Zelenskyy to Washington, together with European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen, who stated she was becoming a member of at “the request of President Zelenskyy.”
Although the practically three-hour-long assembly between the U.S. and Russian presidents on Friday failed to supply the ceasefire that Mr. Trump had sought, the administration has since pivoted to looking for a broader peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia. The choice to desert a ceasefire was at odds with the objectives of the U.S. and European allies heading into the summit, and a few analysts say the shift might give Putin extra leverage on the negotiating desk.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday that “each side are going to must make concessions” to get there.
“We need to wind up with a peace deal that ends this struggle so Ukraine can go on with the remainder of their lives and rebuild their nation and be assured that that is by no means going to occur once more,” Rubio stated, noting that doing so would require each side “to offer.”
The secretary of state, who attended Friday’s summit assembly with Putin, indicated that sufficient progress was made to take a seat down with Zelenskyy to “slender the hole between the 2 sides.”
Rubio stated the main points of safety ensures for Ukraine, the query of territories and the problem of rebuilding the nation nonetheless should be mentioned and “require some extra specificity.”
In the meantime, U.S. particular envoy Steve Witkoff stated on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that Putin agreed to permit the U.S. and Europe to supply “game-changing” safety ensures, together with a potential association wherein the allies present “Article 5-like safety” to Ukraine. Article 5 of the NATO constitution says an assault on one member nation is taken into account an assault towards all. Putin has been vehemently against Ukraine becoming a member of NATO, however an analogous safety assure outdoors the framework of the alliance would possibly reassure Kyiv that Russia can be deterred from attacking sooner or later.
Witkoff famous that the administration intends to debate a potential land swap at Monday’s assembly.
“We’re not ready every week for a gathering with Zelenskyy and the European leaders,” Witkoff stated. “We’re intent on making an attempt to hammer out a peace deal that ends the combating completely, very, in a short time. Faster than a ceasefire.”
In a Reality Social submit Sunday night time, Mr. Trump stated, “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can finish the struggle with Russia nearly instantly, if he desires to, or he can proceed to struggle. Bear in mind the way it began. No getting again Obama given Crimea (12 years in the past, with no shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some issues by no means change!!!” Mr. Trump was referring to Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea in early 2014.
In a submit on X, Zelenskyy stated he’d arrived in Washington for the talks and insisted, “Russia should finish this struggle, which it itself began. And I hope that our joint energy with America, with our European pals, will drive Russia into an actual peace.”
Forward of Monday’s assembly, Russian assaults on Ukraine continued, with a wave of air strikes hitting cities across the nation, together with Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Sumy, CBS Information companion community BBC Information reported. Ukrainian authorities stated a drone assault on a residential space within the metropolis of Kharkiv in a single day killed a toddler, a 16-year-old and 5 different folks.
“Regardless of the entire diplomacy and peace efforts, Russia continues to kill civilians,” Ukraine’s Minister of Overseas Affairs Andrii Sybiha stated in a social media submit. “Russia is a murderous struggle machine that Ukraine is holding again. And it should be stopped by way of transatlantic unity and strain. Moscow should cease the killing so as to advance diplomacy.”
Russian state media reported Ukraine had carried out a drone assault in Donetsk, in a single day which killed a 62-year-old girl.
Monday’s assembly between Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy comes months after a contentious February Oval Workplace assembly between the 2 leaders and Vice President JD Vance uncovered a extreme rift, with tensions erupting on digital camera as Vance accused Zelenskyy of ingratitude. In current months, Mr. Trump’s posture appeared to shift as he expressed frustration with Putin over Russia’s ongoing drone and missile assaults, together with what Ukraine described as the biggest such assaults because the invasion started in February 2022.
Haley Ott and
contributed to this report.
