European leaders will join Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his crucial meeting with President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday (August 17, 2025).
The move in relation to the key White House meeting on Monday (August 18, 2025) is an apparent effort to prevent a repeat of the heated encounter Mr. Zelenskyy faced when he met Mr. Trump in February.
Takeaways from Trump-Putin meeting: No agreement, no questions but lots of pomp
The European leaders’ presence at Mr. Zelenskyy’s side, demonstrating Europe’s support for Ukraine, could potentially help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Mr. Zelenskyy risks being railroaded into a peace deal that Trump says he wants to broker with Russia.
(With inputs from Agencies)
