Zelensky in Washington accompanied by European partners

2025-08-18 08:13:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Ukrainian President Zelensky will not meet with President Trump alone, but will be accompanied by several European partners. Before leaving for Washington, they held a coordination meeting.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte are traveling to Washington today (18.08.) together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet with US President Donald Trump.

The trip will serve "to exchange information" with Trump after his meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska, German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said. Topics of discussion include "security guarantees for Ukraine, territorial issues and continued support for Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression."

European partners also want to prevent any escalation in the meeting between Trump and Zelensky, as happened in February, when the two had a debate in the Oval Office in front of live cameras.

Zelensky: Security guarantees are essential

NATO-style security guarantees are essential to ending the war, said Zelensky, who held consultations with his European partners in Brussels on Sunday. The guarantee should work as stipulated in Article 5 of the NATO treaty. According to him, member states can support other allied countries in the event of an attack and an attack on one member is considered an attack on all NATO members. Von der Leyen underlined this goal and stressed that the United States is also ready to do so. "We welcome President Trump's readiness to contribute to Article 5-style security guarantees for Ukraine," the German politician said. The "Coalition of the Willing" and the EU are ready to contribute. US: Russia agrees to security guarantees

According to US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Russia accepts such security guarantees. But Ukraine's accession to NATO is a non-negotiable issue for Putin, Witkoff told CNN. According to him, Russia has also expressed its intention to commit to a peace agreement and not to occupy other territories in Ukraine. Witkoff also told Fox News that Russia should not violate any European borders. On the other hand, according to some media outlets, President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine completely give up the Donbas region, which consists of Donetsk and Luhansk - including those parts that are not occupied by Russian troops. Putin wants these regions located in eastern Ukraine to be transferred to Russia./ DW