Zelensky heads to Washington as Trump presses for Russia deal

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders were scheduled to meet Donald J. Trump in Washington on Monday to map out a peace deal amid fears the US president could try to pressure Kyiv into accepting a settlement favorable to Moscow.

- 

The leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO hope to shore up Mr, Zelensky at a crucial diplomatic moment in the war and prevent any repetition of the bad-tempered Oval Office encounter between Mr. Trump and Ukraine’s leader in February.

Mr. Trump is scheduled to meet first with Mr. Zelensky at 1:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (1715 GMT) in the Oval Office and then with all the European leaders together in the White House's East Room at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), the White House said.

After rolling out the red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Mr. Trump said an agreement should be struck to end the 42-month-long war which has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.

“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Mr. Trump said on his Truth Social platform, using an alternate transliteration of the Ukrainian leader’s name.

However, Mr. Zelensky has already all but rejected the outline of Mr. Putin’s proposals at that meeting, including for Ukraine to give up the rest of its eastern Donetsk region, of which it currently controls a quarter.