The final time Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was inside the Oval Office, he was berated by his US hosts, denied a deliberate luncheon and abruptly requested to depart the West Wing.
“He can come back when he is ready for peace,” President Donald Trump mentioned after the assembly fell aside.
Six months later, Zelensky is returning to the White House on Monday to be taught extra particulars of Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin — and to be taught what, precisely, the US president envisions peace wanting like in Ukraine.
During the assembly in February, Trump instructed Zelensky: “You don’t have the cards.”
After Trump’s summit with Putin in Alaska, it remained unclear how the deck had been reshuffled.
Initial indications haven’t been acquired notably properly, both by the Ukrainians or by European officers briefed on the contents of the practically three-hour summit in Anchorage. Trump mentioned afterward he was abandoning his hope for a direct ceasefire, pushing as a substitute for a full peace settlement with out first insisting Russia’s bombardments finish.
That is the other stance of European leaders and Zelensky, who say Ukraine can’t be made to barter its future whereas beneath fixed assault from Moscow.
So, too, has Trump appeared receptive to Putin’s plan for main land concessions by the Ukrainians as a situation for ending the struggle. Trump instructed European officers on the telephone as he was arriving again in Washington that Putin had not deserted his demand for all the japanese Donbas area, suggesting the struggle may very well be resolved rapidly if Zelensky agreed to offer it up.
Trump’s openness to US safety ensures for Ukraine as soon as the struggle ends has given some European officers hope, however the specifics of what he’s prepared to supply stay unknown.
It all will make for consequential discussions contained in the Oval Office on Monday, as Trump presses for an finish to a battle he as soon as promised to resolve inside a day of taking workplace.
Since the fracas in February, Trump and Zelensky have gone a great distance towards repairing their relationship. European leaders, together with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have supplied Zelensky pointers in method Trump, suggesting a much less combative perspective and extra overt demonstrations of gratitude for US help.
Zelensky was certain to notice his gratitude for the invitation to Washington, writing Saturday on X, “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. I am grateful for the invitation.”
European leaders together with Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland President Alexander Stubb and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are all anticipated to affix the talks between Trump and Zelensky, who has the backing of Europe.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte may additionally journey to Washington for the assembly, one official mentioned.
The optics of an Oval Office invitation simply days after the summit with Putin in Alaska are vital. While Putin was handled to a showy show of welcome in Anchorage, he was not pictured alongside the US president in the Oval Office — a room he hasn’t been in since 2005.
Trump clapped when Putin walked down the tarmac and joined the US president inside his armored limo — a uncommon sight for any international chief, not to mention an adversary. Trump described the talks as “warm,” and the imagery from the day underscored Putin’s return to the diplomatic fold after being frozen out following his invasion of Ukraine.
Still, he was additionally greeted by a present of drive: a B-2 bomber flyover and 4 F-22 Raptors parked alongside Air Force One, the identical planes used to intercept Russian plane once they intrude in American airspace.
Monday will probably be Zelensky’s first time returning to the Oval Office since Trump mentioned he was “gambling with World War III” and Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian chief of a scarcity of gratitude, asking him, “Have you said thank you once?” A supply acquainted mentioned Vance will even attend Monday’s assembly.
But Trump and Zelensky have met face-to-face twice since then, and their relationship has enormously improved.
In April, Trump met briefly with Zelensky in the Vatican earlier than Pope Francis’ funeral and in June on the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Netherlands.
“You know we had some rough times,” Trump mentioned after his assembly with Zelensky at NATO. “He couldn’t have been nicer.”
“I took from the meeting that he’d like to see it end,” Trump added.
The Vatican assembly was an intimate one, with Zelensky and Trump huddled carefully throughout from one another in St. Peter’s Basilica beneath a large portray of Jesus’ baptism.
“I believe that we had the best conversation with President Trump of all those that have taken place before,” Zelensky told reporters after the assembly.
After the assembly, Trump threatened potential new sanctions on Russia and questioned whether or not Putin was severe about peace or “tapping” him alongside.
But a number of months later, he has stopped in need of making use of the brand new sanctions, and many Western officers consider Putin remains to be stringing alongside the president as he performs for time to perform his struggle goals.
In May, after Putin blew off a chance to fulfill with Zelensky in Istanbul, sending a lower-level delegation as a substitute, Trump instructed reporters, “Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together, OK?”
Trump has cleared that hurdle, however reaching a long-lasting peace stays elusive.
This story has been up to date with further info.
NCS’s Sophie Tanno and Sebastian Shukla contributed to this report.