Searching for peace Zelensky travels to talks with Trump with European support
The last meeting between Trump and Selenskyj in the White House turned into a scandal. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, much depends on the meeting with Trump on Monday. (archive image)
Image: dpa
Chancellor Merz is also traveling to Washington with Selenskyj. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Trump has just rolled out the red carpet for Kremlin boss Putin. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
The last meeting between Trump and Selenskyj in the White House turned into a scandal. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, much depends on the meeting with Trump on Monday. (archive image)
Image: dpa
Chancellor Merz is also traveling to Washington with Selenskyj. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Trump has just rolled out the red carpet for Kremlin boss Putin. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
The Ukrainian president's last visit to the White House turned into a fiasco. A repeat of this is to be prevented by joining forces. What can the Europeans achieve?
17.08.2025, 14:26
17.08.2025, 14:37
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Selensky travels to Washington with European support to talk to Trump about peace and security guarantees for Ukraine.
- Europe wants to prevent a deal in Russia's favor after Trump had already made concessions to Putin.
- The meeting is considered crucial for military aid and possible peace negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is receiving broad support from Europe on his trip to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump on Monday. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as well as EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will accompany the Ukrainian to the meeting in Washington. They will be joined by other heads of state and government from Europe.
The topic of the meeting with Trump is an end to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. According to the German government, this will include "security guarantees, territorial issues and continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression".
Macron and Starmer also travel to Washington
The trip was also intended to exchange information with Trump following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Germany is underlining the goal of a peace agreement in Ukraine, Berlin added.
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Finnish President Alexander Stubb were among those who announced their attendance. The Europeans want to prevent decisions being made to the detriment of Ukraine. Von der Leyen wrote that she was accompanying Zelensky at his request.
After the meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday, Trump backed away from his call for a ceasefire. Instead, a peace agreement is now to be discussed - in line with Putin's wishes. Among other things, Russia is demanding that Ukraine relinquish territory, which Zelenskyi categorically rejects.
New fiasco in the White House to be avoided
What happens next is likely to depend largely on how Zelensky's talks with Trump in Washington go - and what demands he is confronted with there.
In February, his meeting with Trump in the Oval Office escalated in front of the cameras, forcing the Ukrainian to leave without having achieved anything. As a result, the USA temporarily suspended its military aid, which is extremely important for Ukraine. A repetition of such scenes should be avoided by joining forces.
Today, Selenskyj and von der Leyen were to take part in a video conference of the "coalition of the willing" in Brussels, as the Commission President wrote on X. Kiev's allies wanted to discuss the next steps in the afternoon.
Even Pope Leo XIV spoke out and called for prayers for peace. "Let us pray that the efforts to end the wars and promote peace may be crowned with success (...)", said the Holy Father according to a statement.
Tripartite summit possibly on Friday
According to Merz, Selensky's visit will this time be followed by a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin, although a time and place have not yet been set. According to an unconfirmed Axios report, the US president let his European interlocutors know that he is aiming for such a meeting on Friday.
Meanwhile, the government in Kiev called on the Europeans to exert more pressure on Moscow. Ukraine also needs guarantees for its own security, a strengthening of its defense force and a package of deterrent measures to force Russia to end the war, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said on X.
The pressure of sanctions on Russia must be increased, the minister said. The EU Commission is currently preparing a 19th package of punitive measures.
Red carpet for Putin in Alaska
Trump received Putin last Friday for a summit meeting in Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, and literally rolled out the red carpet for his diplomatically largely isolated guest - even though Putin is the subject of an international arrest warrant for war crimes.
The two did not reveal any specific details of their talks afterwards. However, Trump did toe Putin's line by renouncing his demand for a ceasefire, without the Russian president himself making any visible concessions.
Trump advises Selensky to make a deal with Moscow
The worst-case scenario from the Europeans' point of view, a deal over the Ukrainians' heads, did not become reality for the time being. However, the disillusionment after the intensive agreements in the run-up - including with Trump - was palpable.
Standing next to his host at the lectern, Putin was once again able to make it clear that in order to achieve a stable peace, the root causes of the conflict, as he defines them, must first and foremost be eliminated. Trump left this unchallenged - and later emphasized in a TV interview that he would advise Zelensky to agree to a "deal" with the militarily superior aggressor.
Putin allegedly demands complete Donbass
According to US media, Putin is said to have demanded that the entire Donbass in eastern Ukraine be handed over to Russia. Trump passed this demand on to Zelenskyi, reported the Bloomberg news agency, the New York Times newspaper and the Axios news website, citing informed sources. Moscow currently only controls parts of Donbass.
After the summit, Trump informed the most important European heads of state and government about his talks with Putin on Saturday morning. Fortunately, Trump did not question a single one of the five key points previously agreed by the Europeans and Zelensky, said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in an interview with ZDF television.
Merz: USA ready for security guarantees
In the meantime, the CDU chairman also considers peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia without a prior ceasefire to be justifiable - provided that an agreement is reached quickly. "If that succeeds, it will be worth more than a ceasefire that may last for weeks - without further progress in the political and diplomatic efforts."
Security guarantees for Ukraine would also have to come into force with a peace treaty at the latest. Merz described the fact that the USA is also prepared to participate in such security guarantees as good news.