President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced plans to meet on Monday to hammer out “all of the details” about how to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The meeting in Washington, D.C., marks the next stage of reaching a potential ceasefire or more sweeping and final peace deal, which the White House now hopes could be implemented. It is set to come three days after Trump held an Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, seeking to help negotiate an end to the war that ended with “no deal,” although the White House described the friendly encounter as “very productive.”
Trump debriefed Zelensky and critical allies with a phone call following the Alaska meeting with Putin, with the Ukrainian president sounding broadly positive about the summit, leading him to accept an invitation from the White House for a similar meeting to further peace efforts next week.
“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,” Trump posted on Truth Social early Saturday morning. “President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved.”
‘NO DEAL UNTIL THERE’S A DEAL’: TRUMP SUMS UP PUTIN MEETING IN SURPRISINGLY BRIEF PRESS CONFERENCE
Zelensky confirmed the meeting in his own message to social media, saying he was “grateful” for the invitation and that the two men plan “to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.” He also backed Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine, arguing that “Ukraine emphasizes that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this.”
“Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace,” Zelensky said. “President Trump informed about his meeting with the Russian leader and the main points of their discussion. It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation.”
