On the 18th of local time, U.S. President Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House. According to European sources, the French President, German Chancellor, British Prime Minister, Italian Prime Minister, President of the European Commission, President of Finland, and Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will also visit the United States at the same time. The White House schedule shows that Trump will first meet with Zelensky and then hold a collective meeting with the visiting European leaders.
Trump posted on social media on the 17th, “Tomorrow (the 18th) is a big day at the White House, and so many European leaders have never come at the same time.” According to White House sources, Trump will first meet with Zelensky in the Oval Office at 1:15 p.m. local time on the 18th, and then hold a meeting with all the visiting European leaders in the East Room of the White House at 3:00 p.m.
Trump also tweeted earlier on the 17th that if Zelensky is willing, the Russia-Ukraine conflict can end “almost immediately,” and claimed that Ukraine cannot “retrieve” Crimea or join NATO. According to CNN, Trump’s above “shout-out” indicates that Zelensky will face tremendous pressure during the meeting on the 18th.
According to a report by Reuters on the 18th, European leaders are “grouping up” to visit the United States to avoid another White House altercation in February and support Zelensky, so that he will not be forced by U.S. pressure to accept a deal that favors Russia.
Zelensky’s last visit to the White House was on February 28th this year. At that time, Trump and Zelensky had a meeting in which they had a fierce argument in front of the media with U.S. Vice President Pence present, forcing Zelensky to leave the White House early. Trump and Pence claimed that Zelensky was “disrespectful” to the United States. The planned joint session and signing of the US-Ukraine mineral agreement after the meeting were canceled, and the United States subsequently applied pressure on Ukraine by suspending military aid and intelligence sharing.
U.S. Secretary of State Rubio appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program on the 17th. When asked about the European leaders’ “grouping up” visit to the United States, he replied, “They are coming tomorrow not to prevent Zelensky from being ‘bullied,’ but because we have been working with Europe.”
Rubio said that European leaders are visiting the United States both because they want to come and because “we have invited them.” He believes that both Russia and Ukraine need to compromise to reach a peace agreement, and the meeting on the 18th will also discuss providing security guarantees for Ukraine.
On the 15th of this month, Trump and Russian President Putin met in Alaska, USA. After that, Zelensky announced that he would visit the United States to meet with Trump on the 18th at Trump’s invitation. The President of the European Commission Von Der Leyen stated on the 17th that any issues involving territory must be decided by Ukraine, and Ukraine must sit at the negotiating table.