The planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin is a «highly anticipated meeting,» the Republican said.
A senior Ukrainian official said it would be «the right thing to do» for U.S. President Donald Trump to invite Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky to next week’s planned Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging that no talks on ending the war take place without Kyiv at the table.
Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek on Sunday that bringing Zelensky into the discussions would align with the principle of «nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.» His comments followed U.S. media reports that the White House is considering adding the Ukrainian leader to the meeting set for Friday, August 15, the first in-person talks between Trump and Putin since 2019.
The White House is weighing up inviting Zelensky, NBC News reported late on Saturday, citing a senior administration official and three people briefed on the discussions. It is «absolutely» a possibility, and «everyone is hopeful that it would happen», the official told the outlet.
Newsweek could not independently verify the report and has emailed the White House for comment. A White House official said in a statement to NBC: «The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders. Right now, the White House is focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin.»
The U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a joint statement on Sunday reinforcing Kyiv’s stance. «The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine», the statement read. «We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.»
Trump announced the meeting with Putin on Friday, calling it «highly anticipated.
