KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday after a Russia-US summit ended without an agreement to stop the fighting in Ukraine after 3 1/2 years.
In a reversal, only a few hours after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said an overall peace agreement, and not a ceasefire, was the best way to end the war. That statement echoed Putin’s view that Russia is not interested in a temporary truce, and instead is seeking a long-term settlement that takes Moscow’s interests into account.
Trump and Ukraine’s European allies had been calling for a ceasefire ahead of any negotiations. Zelensky, who was not invited to Alaska for the summit, said he held a “long and substantive” conversation with Trump early Saturday. He thanked him for the invitation to meet in person in Washington on Monday and said they would “discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.”
It will be Zelensky’s first visit to the US since Trump berated him publicly for being “disrespectful” during an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on February 28. Trump, who also held calls with European leaders Saturday, confirmed the White House meeting and said that “if all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin.” (Read More)