U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine should abandon hopes of reclaiming Crimea or joining NATO as he prepared Monday to host President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington to press Kyiv toward a peace deal with Russia.
After rolling out the red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Trump is leaning on Ukraine to accept a deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years, which has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.
Trump will meet Zelenskyy first and then the leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO, the White House said.
The European leaders are flying to Washington to show solidarity with Ukraine and to press for strong security guarantees in any post-war settlement.
Trump's team stressed Sunday that there had to be compromises on both sides. But Trump put the burden on Zelenskyy to end the war that Russia began with its full-scale invasion in February 2022. That, along with his comments on NATO and Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014 during Barack Obama's presidency, suggested he would press Zelenskyy hard at Monday's meeting.
