At the February meeting, Trump told Zelensky, “There’s no cards in hand.” Six months later, Zelensky returns to the oval room Monday
The last time Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in the Oval Room, was reprimanded by the American hosts, saw him a previously planned lunch and was abruptly invited to leave the west wing.
“He can come back when prepared for peace,” said President Donald Trump after the meeting collapsed.
Six months later, Zelensky returns to the White House on Monday to learn more details of Alaska’s summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin-and to realize how, exactly, the US President imagines it could be peace in Ukraine.
At the February meeting, Trump told Zelensky, “There’s no cards in hand.”
After Trump’s summit with Putin in Alaska, he continued to clarify how the deck had been redistributed.
The first signs were not particularly well received, neither by the Ukrainians nor by the European responsible informed about the contents of the almost three -hour summit in Anchorage. Trump said in the end that he abandoned the hope of immediate ceasefire, rather defending a total peace agreement without first demanding the end of Russian bombing.
This is the opposite position of that of European and Zelensky leaders, who maintain that Ukraine cannot be forced to negotiate its future while under constant Moscow attack.
Trump also seemed receptive to Putin’s plan that provided for significant territorial concessions from the Ukrainians as a condition to finish the war. He told Europeans on the phone as he returned to Washington, that Putin had not abandoned the requirement to be with the entire eastern region of the Donbass, suggesting that the war could be quickly resolved if Zelensky agreed to give in to the territory.
Trump’s opening to US security guarantees to Ukraine after the end of the war gave some hope to certain European officials, but the details of what is willing to offer remain unknown.
All of this will create much-range discussions in the Oval Room on Monday, when Trump presses to end a conflict he had promised to resolve in a single day of office.
Since the confrontation in February, Trump and Zelensky have made a long way to repair his relationship. European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Stmerer, advised Zelensky about how to approach Trump, suggesting a less combative attitude and clearer demonstrations of gratitude for US support.
Zelensky, writing Saturday at X: “On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, DC, to discuss all the details related to ending the killing and war. I’m grateful for the invitation.”
European leaders such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Stmerer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and the president of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen participate in the talks between Trump and Zelensky, who has the support, who has the support. European.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte may also travel to Washington to the meeting, according to one official.
The image of an invitation to the oval room only days after the summit with Putin in Alaska is significant. While Putin was received in Anchorage with an ostentatious demonstration of welcome, he was not photographed alongside the US president in the Oval Room-a room in which he has not entered since 2005.
Trump clapped his hands when Putin went down the track and joined the US President inside his armored limousine-a rare scene for any foreign leader, the more for an opponent. Trump described the conversations as “warm,” and the staging of the day underlined Putin’s return to the diplomatic stage after being excluded due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Still, it was also received with a demonstration of strength: the passage of a B-2 bomber and four F-22 fighters parked next to Air Force One, the same ones that are used to intercep Russian aircraft when they enter the American airspace.
Monday will mark the first time that Zelensky has returned to the oval room since Trump said he was “playing with World War I” and Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of lack of gratitude, asking him, “Have you ever said thanks?” A source said Vance will also be present at Monday’s meeting.
Trump receives Putin before the Alaska summit began
But Trump and Zelensky have met face to face twice since then, and their relationship has improved a lot.
In April, before Pope Francis’ funeral, and in June on the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Netherlands.
“You know we had difficult times,” Trump said after the meeting with Zelensky on Nato. “He couldn’t have been more friendly.”
“I removed from the meeting the idea that he would like to see this finish,” Trump added.
The Vatican meeting was intimate, with Zelensky and Trump sitting face to face, very close to St. Peter’s Basilica, under a huge painting of the baptism of Jesus.
“I believe we had the best conversation with President Trump of all that have happened so far,” Zelensky told reporters after the meeting.
After the meeting, Trump threatened with potential new sanctions to Russia and wondered if Putin was truly committed to peace or just “gaining time.”
But several months later, he did not apply the new sanctions, and many Western responsible believe that Putin continues to gain time while seeking to reach his war goals.
In May, after Putin wasted the opportunity to meet Zelensky in Istanbul, sending a lower level delegation instead, Trump told journalists, “Look, nothing will happen until Putin and I sat together, okay?”
Trump has already surpassed this obstacle, but achieving lasting peace remains dodge.
Sophie Tanno and CNN Sebastian Shukla contributed to this report.
