Europeans to back Zelenskiy in Washington as Trump presses Ukraine deal

Reuters:

LONDON/KYIV/WASHINGTON, Aug 17 – European leaders will join Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet Donald Trump in Washington, they said on Sunday, seeking to shore up Zelenskiy’s position as the U.S. president presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace deal to end Europe’s deadliest war in 80 years.

Trump is leaning on Zelenskiy to strike an agreement after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and emerged more aligned with Moscow on seeking a peace deal instead of a ceasefire first.

Trump and Zelenskiy will meet on Monday. It is expected that they will have a bilateral meeting prior to the European leaders joining a larger conversation, according to a person briefed on the conversation.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on scheduling details.

“If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands … we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don’t want to wind up there,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Trump discussed Ukraine in several social media posts on Sunday. In one, he promised “BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA” in a social media post without specifying what this might be. In another, he said Zelenskiy could end the war “almost immediately, if he wants to” and seemed to indicate that reclaiming Crimea and joining NATO are off the table for Ukraine.