President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced her intention to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Washington on August 18. They plan to hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. This was revealed in von der Leyen’s address on social media platform X.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“This afternoon, I will welcome Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels. Together, we will participate in the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ meeting. At President Zelensky’s request, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders at the White House tomorrow.”
European leaders have expressed their intention to support Ukraine during the upcoming meeting in Washington. According to media reports, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who have good personal relations with Donald Trump, may also join the delegation.
Security Talks and Peace Prospects
The Axios publication, citing diplomatic sources, reports that during a phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, Trump proposed holding a trilateral summit involving Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as August 22. So far, Putin has not confirmed his participation in such a meeting.
Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that Russia is complicating the situation by refusing to cease fire and continuing attacks on Ukraine. For his part, Donald Trump stated after his meeting with Putin in mid-August that he advocates not for a ceasefire, but for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Security Guarantees for Ukraine
Ukraine has stated that it has no intention of withdrawing troops from the territories it controls in Donbas, which remains one of Moscow’s main conditions for reaching agreements. The issue of security guarantees is also at the center of the negotiations. According to media reports, Donald Trump has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5 on collective defense. This means that in the event of renewed hostilities, the guarantor countries would be required to provide a military response to the aggressor.