Raphael Kanu
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said he was prepared to meet face-to-face with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a bid to end the war that has dragged on for more than three years.
Speaking after talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders at the White House, Zelensky said he had received unanimous support for a bilateral meeting with Putin.
“I confirmed — and all European leaders supported me — that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin,” Zelensky told reporters.
The remarks come as Kyiv faces mounting pressure to concede territory following recent Russian gains. Ahead of the summit, Trump had urged Ukraine to give up Crimea and drop its NATO ambitions — key demands of Moscow.
But Zelensky insisted he had presented a clearer picture of battlefield realities during his Oval Office meeting with Trump. “This was the best of our meetings. I was able to show many things, even on the map, to all American colleagues,” he said.
Rather than territorial concessions, the summit focused on security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a peace deal. French President Emmanuel Macron said discussions centered on a framework involving European countries “in coordination with the United States.”
Trump confirmed that the U.S. and its allies would be part of the guarantees. Zelensky added that a formal agreement on the mechanism could be reached “within the next week or ten days.”