Mon. Aug 18th, 2025
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1 of 4 | Guardsmen place the Ukrainian flag and the American flag at the entrance to the White House before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets President Donald Trump and European leaders in Washington, D.C., on Monday. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 18 (UPI) — President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet Monday in the White House.

Zelensky said he expects to discuss “key issues” at the meeting. It comes after Trump’s Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

European leaders began arriving at noon Monday, and Trump is expected to greet Zelensky at 1 p.m. with a meeting soon after.

European Council leaders are scheduled to meet via videoconference Tuesday to discuss the meeting. EC President Antonio Costa called the conference, he announced on X Monday.

“I have convened a video conference of the members of the European Council for tomorrow at 1 p.m. CEST, for a debriefing of today’s meetings in Washington, D.C., about Ukraine,” Costa wrote. “Together with the U.S., the EU will continue working towards a lasting peace that safeguards Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests.”

European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are scheduled to accompany Zelensky to Washington Monday for the talk.

In a brief on Truth Social, Trump said Zelensky “can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight.”

“Remember how it started,” Trump said. “No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE.”

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