According to a US representative, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may attend the summit meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Friday. “Yes, I think that's certainly possible,” US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said Sunday on US news channel CNN in response to a question on the matter. The decision on whether to attend the meeting in Alaska must ultimately be made by Trump.
“If he thinks it's the best scenario to invite Zelensky, then he will do so,” Whitaker said of Trump. However, “no decision” has been made yet. Whitaker added: “There certainly cannot be a deal that not everyone involved agrees to.”
Trump and Putin are meeting in Alaska on Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine. There are fears that the two presidents could reach agreements that are detrimental to Ukraine. Trump has raised the possibility of a “territorial exchange” between Russia and Ukraine. Zelensky has ruled out ceding any territory to Russia.
The EU and EU member states are demanding that both they and Ukraine be involved in talks on a possible peace solution. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) said on Sunday on ARD television: “In any case, we cannot accept that territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians.” Merz also demanded that Zelensky be “involved” in the summit in Alaska.
EU foreign ministers will discuss the issue at a special online meeting on Monday. “Any agreement between the US and Russia must include Ukraine and the EU, because it concerns the security of Ukraine and the whole of Europe,” EU Foreign Affairs Representative Kaja Kallas said on Sunday.
Putin himself recently said that he had “nothing against” meeting with Zelenskyy. However, he added that the “conditions” for such a meeting had not yet been met.
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