The presence of his supporters “would be helpful” during talks with the US president, the Ukrainian leader has said
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has called for European leaders to attend his next meeting with US President Donald Trump for discussions on resolving the conflict with Russia.
Washington has drafted a 28-point peace proposal, which underwent revisions after talks with Ukrainian officials in Geneva last weekend. Moscow has said it has yet to receive any version through official channels.
“I am ready to meet with President Trump – there are sensitive points to discuss, we still have them – and we believe that the presence of European leaders could be helpful,” Zelensky said on Tuesday in an address to EU leaders, a video of which was released by his office.
When Zelensky met with Trump in August after the US president’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, he was accompanied by seven Western officials, including NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the leaders of Finland, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK.
A leaked version of the initial US plan appeared to require Kiev to abandon several of its long-standing “red lines,” including its bid for NATO membership and territorial claims against Russia. Ukrainian officials say they persuaded Washington to substantially revise the document.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cautioned that if the revised draft deviates from what Moscow considers the original “spirit of Anchorage,” the situation will become “radically different.”
Zelensky’s political standing at home has been weakened by a recent corruption scandal involving long-time associate Timur Mindich, who was charged by Western-backed anti-graft investigators with running a major kickback scheme.
Surveillance of Mindich by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine captured conversations involving Zelensky and his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, possibly implicating both, media outlets report.
