Donald Trump has put pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy before talks in Washington with European leaders on Monday, saying the Ukrainian leader could end the war “almost immediately” if he wanted to. The US president also ruled out allowing Ukraine to join Nato or retake Russian-occupied Crimea as part of negotiations with Moscow.
Trump posted the remarks on his Truth Social platform on Sunday night, hours before he was due to meet the leaders of Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the EU and Nato at the Oval Office, amid fears the US president could try to pressure Kyiv into accepting a settlement favourable to Moscow.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump posted. “No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and no going into Nato by Ukraine. Some things never change!!!” he added.
A minute later, the US president posted that it would be a “great honour” to host so many European leaders at one time at the White House.
The remarks may trigger alarm among European diplomats keen to avoid a repeat of the public mauling of Zelenskyy during his previous trip to the White House in February, when Trump and the US vice-president, JD Vance, accused him of ingratitude and disrespect and told him: “You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now.”
Arriving in Washington for the meeting late on Sunday, Zelenskyy said he hoped Ukraine’s “shared strength” with the US and European counterparts would compel Russia to peace.
“I am grateful to the president of the United States for the invitation. We all equally want to end this war swiftly and reliably,” Zelenskyy posted on the Telegram messaging app. “And I hope that our shared strength with America and with our European friends will compel Russia to real peace.”
Trump will meet first with Zelenskyy at 1.15pm EDT (1715 GMT) in the Oval Office, and then with the European leaders in the East Room at 3pm, the White House said.
Even before Trump’s remarks on Sunday, Zelenskyy faced a daunting task of reversing the damage done to Ukraine’s security prospects by the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday.
Earlier, Trump accused the media of misrepresenting his “great meeting in Alaska” – an encounter widely seen as a victory for Putin and a humiliation for the US president. On Sunday, Trump claimed he had made “big progress” on Russia, without giving details.
European leaders on Monday will reaffirm their support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and argue against any land swap plan that rewards Russian aggression. They will also seek further clarity on what security guarantees the US is willing to offer in the event of a settlement.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy to international organisations in Vienna, said early on Monday that Russia agreed that any future Ukraine peace agreement must provide security guarantees to Kyiv, but Russia “has equal right to expect that Moscow will also get efficient security guarantees”.
In a conciliatory statement announcing his visit to Washington, the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, praised Trump for his “efforts to end Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine”. At the same time, he reasserted Europe’s red lines. Starmer said the “path to peace” could not be decided without Zelenskyy and said Russia should be “squeezed” with further sanctions.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, told CNN that Putin had agreed for the first time for the US and Europe to provide protection to Ukraine as part of a deal. This would be outside the auspices of Nato but the equivalent of the alliance’s article 5 self-defence pact, Witkoff indicated.
With Agence France-Presse
