Donald Trump has put pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of Monday’s talks in Washington with European leaders, saying the Ukrainian president 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 European leaders including Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, and Zelenskyy at the Oval Office in a bid to counter a reportedly US-backed plan that would see Ukraine give up territory.
“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 spark alarm among European diplomats keen to avoid a repeat of the public mauling of Zelenskyy during his last 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.”
Even before Sunday’s remarks by Trump, Zelenskyy faces a daunting task of reversing the damage done to Ukraine’s security prospects by Friday’s Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.
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 agrees that any future Ukraine peace agreement must provide security guarantees to Kyiv, but added that Russia “has equal right to expect that Moscow will also get efficient security guarantees”.
In a conciliatory statement announcing his visit to Washington, Starmer praised Trump for his “efforts to end Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine”. At the same time, Starmer reasserted Europe’s red lines. He 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 would be the equivalent of the alliance’s article 5 self-defence pact, Witkoff indicated.
With Agence France-Presse
Source link
