Volodymyr Zelensky will head to Washington on Monday to discuss “ending the killing and the war” with US President Donald Trump, the Ukrainian President announced on Saturday.
Volodymyr Zelensky made the announcement after holding a telephonic conversation with Donald Trump, during which the US President informed him about the “main points” of his talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
“On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war,” Zelensky posted on X, adding that “I am grateful for the invitation.”
According to Zelensky, he had a “long and substantive conversation with Trump” that began as a one-on-one talk before European leaders joined him.
The Washington meeting is set to take place three days after Trump’s talks with Putin in Alaska ended with no ceasefire announcement or apparent breakthrough to end Moscow’s more than three-year-long invasion.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had a “lengthy call” with Zelensky on the flight back to Washington.
Who joined the call?
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later joined the call, a European Commission spokesperson said.
The European leaders, who had been wary of being left out of the Alaska meeting, held their own talks afterwards. Ukraine announced, meanwhile, that Russia had launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile during the night after the summit.
Trump-Putin meeting outcome
Trump and Putin emerged from their talks to offer warm words at a press briefing but took no questions from reporters.
“We are not there yet, but we have made progress. There is no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.
He called the meeting “extremely productive” with “many points” agreed, but did not offer specifics.
“There are just a very few that are left, some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant,” Trump said without elaborating.
‘Next time in Moscow’
Putin also spoke in general terms of cooperation at the joint press appearance that lasted just 12 minutes.
“We hope that the understanding we have reached will… pave the way for peace in Ukraine,” Putin said.
As Trump mused about a second meeting, Putin smiled and said in English: “Next time in Moscow.”
Putin told Trump he agreed with him that the Ukraine war, which Putin ordered, would not have happened if Trump were president instead of Joe Biden when the invasion was launched in 2022.
Before the summit, Trump had warned of “severe consequences” if Russia did not accept a ceasefire.
But when asked about those consequences during a Fox News interview after the talks, Trump said that “because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now.”
(With inputs from agencies)
