When Donald Trump hosts Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Monday, the U.S. President is set to turn up the pressure on his Ukrainian counterpart to agree to a peace deal with Vladimir Putin after Mr. Trump backed down from pressing the Russian leader for a ceasefire.
Mr. Zelensky, for his part, plans to bring a troop of fellow European leaders with him to the sit-down, hastily scheduled after Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin’s Friday meeting in Alaska. They are expected to fight back against Russia’s demand that Kyiv surrender swaths of territory to Moscow.
Mr. Trump, who once promised to broker an end to Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine within a day of taking office, has signalled that he wants an agreement in short order. But whether a conclusion is possible in the face of Mr. Putin’s conditions and Mr. Trump’s frequently changing position on the war remains unclear.
At stake is the outcome of Europe’s deadliest fighting in 80 years. And at play is the once-unthinkable possibility that the U.S. might push to recognize Russian sovereignty over land that Moscow seized in an invasion.
“President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social late Sunday. He endorsed at least two concessions to Mr. Putin, backing Russian control of Crimea and vowing there would be “NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE.”
Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, said the U.S. and European countries might offer Ukraine similar protection that NATO countries have under Article 5 of their collective defence pact as part of a peace agreement. Under such a scenario, the U.S. and other countries would promise to defend Ukraine if it were invaded again.
“The United States is potentially prepared to be able to give Article 5 security guarantees – but not from NATO – directly from the United States and other European countries,” Mr. Witkoff said on Fox News on Sunday.
President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin said they reached an understanding on ending the war in Ukraine after meeting for about 2 1/2 hours in Alaska. But they offered no details on what they agreed and left without answering questions.
The Associated Press
It remains to be seen whether Ukraine would trust such a guarantee. In 1994, the country gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S., Britain and Russia, only for Russia to later invade and occupy swaths of its territory, starting with Crimea in 2014.
Mr. Witkoff said he was optimistic the Monday meeting would lead to a later trilateral gathering between Mr. Trump, Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelensky. He indicated that territorial concessions were on the table. “It is for the Ukrainians to decide how they might land swap, how they might make a deal with the Russians on different territories there.”
Mr. Zelensky’s squad at the meeting is expected to include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Analysis: Truth will likely be the last casualty of war in Ukraine
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Mr. Zelensky reiterated that “the constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible” for him “to give up territory or trade land.”
And he poured cold water on Mr. Putin’s reported demand that Kyiv cede land to Moscow that Russian troops don’t even occupy, including the whole of Ukraine’s Donbas industrial region. “We need real negotiations, which means they can start where the front line is now. The contact line is the best line for talking.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took part in a virtual meeting with Mr. Zelensky and the European leaders on Sunday, warned in a statement that “President Putin cannot be trusted” and any peace deal would therefore have to include “robust and credible security guarantees” for Ukraine, along with a strong Ukrainian military.
“Current diplomatic engagement must be reinforced by continued military and economic pressure on Russia to end its aggression,” Mr. Carney said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is bringing with him to the the White House an extraordinary cadre of European leaders to show U.S. President Donald Trump a united front against Russia.
The Associated Press
Before his Friday meeting with Mr. Putin, Mr. Trump repeatedly threatened to increase sanctions on Russia and said he was “not going to be happy” if the Russian leader didn’t agree to a ceasefire.
After the tête-à-tête, however, Mr. Trump changed his mind. He expressed agreement with Mr. Putin, saying it was on Mr. Zelensky to “make a deal” with Russia, without Russia having to pause fighting.
In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Trump said “it’s really up to Zelensky to get it done” because “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not.” The U.S. President said his conversation with Mr. Putin was “very warm” and that Mr. Putin had backed Mr. Trump’s false claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said sanctions might still be on the table if there is no peace agreement. “If this whole effort doesn’t work out, then there is going to have to be additional consequences to Russia,” he said on ABC.
He defended Mr. Trump’s decision not to follow through on his previous sanction threats. “The minute you levy additional sanctions, strong additional sanctions, the talking stops,” he said.