kyiv. European leaders and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced this Sunday that they will accompany President Volodymir Zelensky to Washington for talks with President Donald Trump on ending Russia's war in Ukraine, with the possibility of security guarantees from the United States now on the negotiating table.
The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, and Germany are rallying around the Ukrainian leader following his exclusion from Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Their promise to stand by Zelensky at the White House on Monday is an apparent effort to ensure the meeting goes better than the last one in February, when Trump rebuked Zelensky in a heated Oval Office encounter.
"The Europeans fear a repeat of the Oval Office scene and that's why they want to support Zelensky wholeheartedly," said retired French general Dominique Trinquand, former head of the French military mission to the United Nations."It's a power struggle and a position of strength that could work with Trump."
At a press conference in Brussels with Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the European bloc"welcomes President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. And the coalition of militants, which includes the European Union, stands ready to do its part."
Von der Leyen was joined on Sunday by French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in announcing their participation in Monday's talks at the White House, as was Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the NATO military alliance.
The show of support from European leaders could help ease concerns in Kyiv and other European capitals that Ukraine risks being forced to accept a peace deal that Trump says he wants to negotiate with Russia.
Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), noted that European leaders are trying to"shape this rapidly evolving agenda." Following the Alaska summit, the idea of a ceasefire seems all but abandoned, with the narrative shifting toward Putin's agenda of ensuring Ukraine doesn't join NATO, or even the European Union.
