Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called in reinforcements for his Monday meeting with President Donald Trump in hopes of avoiding another diplomatic dust-up.
The move comes after Zelensky left his February visit to the White House in a huff after a heated exchange with Trump over the conditions of America’s aid package for Ukraine—which has been fighting off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion since 2022.
As Zelensky visits the White House Monday in hopes of securing another aid package, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Finnish President Alexander Stubb will all be present to help tag-team Trump, Politico reported.
In a statement, von der Leyen, who has proven herself to be somewhat of a Trump soothsayer after sealing a US-EU trade deal in July, confirmed that she will be attending the meeting “at the request of President Zelensky.”
A spokesperson for the German government added that the purpose of the Oval Office meeting “is to exchange information with … Trump following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.” They added, “Chancellor Merz will discuss the status of peace efforts with the heads of state and government and emphasize Germany’s interest in a quick peace agreement in Ukraine.”
Politico reported that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is confirmed to also be in attendance, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is looking to attend.
Trump called the highly anticipated meeting after he came away empty-handed from his Friday summit with Putin in Alaska, save for several puzzling platitudes and compliments from Putin about how the war in Ukraine would have never happened under Trump.
At the Monday meeting, Trump is expected to debrief Zelensky on the “many points” he agreed on with Putin about how to de-escalate the ongoing conflict, including ditching plans to cement a ceasefire, the New York Times reported.
The next step will be to bring Putin and Zelensky together to further hash out peace terms. However, Trump made it clear in an interview with Fox News that the ball is now in Zelensky’s court for what happens next.
“Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” Trump told Sean Hannity. “And I would also say the European nations have to get involved a little bit. But it’s up to President Zelensky, and if they would like, I will be at that next meeting.”
“We have a pretty good chance of getting it done,” Trump added.
