(NewsNation) — Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy were set to convene in Washington, D.C., on Monday, alongside a host of European leaders and fresh off a summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin that failed to secure a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy on Monday said he was in the U.S. capital and ready to speak with Trump, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is also expected to attend the meeting, a White House official told NewsNation.
Trump will first meet with Zelenskyy at 1 p.m. ET, then they will head into a high-stakes meeting with other European leaders at 3 p.m. ET.
Zelenskyy has the power to “end the war with Russia almost immediately” if he concedes territory and gives up on entering NATO, Trump said Sunday on social media. Trump’s calls echo those of Russia, which Zelenskyy has vehemently opposed during the 3.5-year war.
An end to the war is a goal Zelenskyy has continuously pushed — but not on Russia’s terms.
“We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting. Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East — part of Donbas — and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Or when Ukraine was given so called ‘security guarantees’ in 1994, but they didn’t work.”
Ukraine-Russia ceasefire deal hinges on territory demands
One of the obstacles for Monday’s meeting will likely be the issue of territory and what Trump has called “land swaps,” though all of the land in question belongs to Ukraine.
Russia is specifically seeking the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas, European officials said. Kremlin forces occupy around 75% of the area currently.
“There is an important discussion to be had with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there. And that discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday,” said U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the Alaska summit.
Zelenskyy has consistently rejected Russia’s demands for Ukrainian territory. Russia currently holds roughly 20% of Ukrainian land, including Crimea, so any deal that freezes the lines more or less where they are would benefit Moscow.
The Ukrainian leader on Sunday again called on Russia to end the war, adding that he hopes “our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace.”
NewsNation’s Anna Kutz, The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Author: Tom Dempsey
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