Two key European envoys are expected to travel with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he visits the White House on Monday to ensure Kyiv’s position is reinforced during the talks, after President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin prompted concerns that Zelenskyy may not receive the same treatment.
Plans are being made for Finnish President Alexander Stubb, with whom Trump is known to engage regularly, to accompany Zelenskyy to Washington, Politico reported Saturday, quoting two European diplomats and a source familiar with the matter.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has a close working relationship with Trump, may also join the visit, one person familiar with the discussions said.
Trump’s summit with Putin in Alaska ended without a breakthrough. Trump said he will meet Zelenskyy before attempting to bring the Ukrainian and Russian leaders together for peace talks. Putin has so far refused to meet with Zelenskyy and gave no sign Friday that he had changed that stance.
European governments and Ukraine see Monday’s meeting as critical to preventing Trump from accepting conditions from Putin they consider unacceptable, such as ceding territory that Russia only partially controls.
They also want to avoid a repeat of a tense White House meeting in February that strained ties. In that session, Trump and Vice President JD Vance criticized Zelenskyy for what they called a lack of gratitude for U.S. support and a weak negotiating position, while his casual attire reportedly worsened the mood.
“It is clear that the outcome of the Alaska summit has raised concerns in Europe, as Trump seems to have bought a large portion of Putin’s argument,” Camille Grand, a former senior NATO official now at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Politico.
In the weeks before Friday’s summit, Trump shifted from blaming Ukraine for the war to taking a more critical tone toward Russia, even warning Putin of “severe consequences” if he did not halt the conflict.
After meeting Putin, Trump stepped back from calls for an immediate ceasefire, said it was up to Ukraine to end the fighting, and advised Kyiv to “take the deal,” without detailing what was proposed. He confirmed that talks had included possible land swaps but declined to elaborate.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will lead a Sunday teleconference of the “coalition of the willing,” a group of nations prepared to provide troops and other aid to Ukraine once the war ends.
Trump has indicated support for some form of American security guarantees for Ukraine after a peace deal, an idea welcomed by Nordic and Baltic leaders.
Giuseppe Spatafora, a former NATO official now with the EU Institute for Security Studies, said European leaders want to shape the talks as much as possible.
“They want to try to influence the negotiation process as much as possible, because they know Trump really wants to do it this way, and they don’t want to leave the initiative to Putin,” he said.
He added that while communication between Trump and Europe has improved, the influence remains limited.
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