Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Washington

Ukraine's president plans to discuss ending the war with President Trump in Washington after Trump's Alaska meeting with Putin.

Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Washington after Alaska summit

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that he plans to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday after Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska ended without a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy described the talks with Trump as long and substantive and thanked him for the invitation to discuss all details regarding ending the killing and the war in person on Monday.

Zelenskyy stressed the need for European involvement in security guarantees, noting that Europeans should be at every stage to help secure credible guarantees with America. He added that there were positive signals from the United States about participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. The discussions come as Trump and Putin signaled different tones; Trump said there would be no deal until a deal is reached, and there was no clear plan outlined for what would come next. The possibility of a trilateral meeting with the three leaders was floated, though Putin’s adviser later said such a format had not been raised in discussions. Attacks by Russia on Ukrainian front lines continued as talks progressed.

European partners, who were not at the Alaska talks, were urged to stay engaged to ensure any security framework is credible. Zelenskyy spoke with Trump one-on-one and then with other European leaders, with conversations lasting more than an hour and a half.

The coming Washington meeting signals that diplomacy remains a constant thread even as the war drags on. It shows Zelenskyy trying to keep U.S. backing active while pressing for a broader European role in any security guarantees. That blend of alliance-building and pressure can shape what counts as progress when the battlefield still favors the defender only in fits and starts.

Yet the path to a lasting agreement is fragile. Public statements from Trump and Putin point to divergent expectations, and a trilateral format could raise hopes without delivering concrete steps. The real test will be whether the talks translate into verifiable commitments and whether European leaders receive assurances they can defend publicly. The risk is that rounds of diplomacy create higher expectations than the negotiators can meet in the near term.

Highlights

Diplomacy keeps a fragile balance between pressure and promises.