Zelensky and other European leaders will call Trump before he meets with Putin.
The US president justifies his Ukrainian counterpart's absence from the meeting with Putin because "he has already attended many meetings."
WashingtonUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders will speak with US President Donald Trump ahead of his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday. The call was prompted by fears that Washington could impose peace terms unfavorable to Ukraine. In recent days, Trump has repeatedly insisted that a "swap" of territories between the two countries will be necessary to end the conflict. Germany pioneered the initiative, convening a series of high-level videoconferences on Wednesday to prepare for the summit, including one between European leaders, Zelensky, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance.
It will be the first time Zelensky and Trump will speak since the Alaska summit was announced. But the meeting in the United States to end the war once again leaves out one of the parties involved: Kiev. Washington and Moscow will decide the solution to the conflict without it being able to say its own. The precedent of negotiations with Russia in spring It does not invite optimism, since they defeated Ukraine. a series of conditions for implementing the ceasefire that he had not even been able to negotiate. Trump extorted Kiev suspends military aid until they joined what he dictated with Putin at their side, and accepted the truce on energy infrastructure.
This Monday, when the president was asked at the White House about Zelensky's absence in Alaska, the Republican responded as follows: "I would say he could go, but he's already attended many meetings." In recent days, he discussed the possibility of Trump inviting Zelensky to meet face-to-face with Putin immediately after the meeting if he was willing to travel there.
Although the American leader has not spoken about the calls with European leaders and Zelensky before the summit, he did say that after meeting with the Russian, he will call the European leaders with whom he has "a good relationship" and will also speak "with Zelensky."
