WASHINGTON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was greeted by US President Donald Trump at the White House Monday ahead of high-stakes talks aimed at bridging big differences over a peace deal with Russia.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Finland, as well as NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, also arrived for the talks, demonstrating support for Ukraine as Trump presses Kyiv to make concessions.
Air raid sirens sounded over Kyiv on Monday, AFP journalists heard, at the same time as the Europeans were arriving. Russian strikes overnight killed at least seven people.
Following his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, Trump said Ukraine must give up Crimea and abandon its NATO ambitions — two of Moscow’s top demands.
Zelensky was scheduled for a one-on-one with Trump in the Oval Office, scene of an astonishing meeting in February February when the US president and his deputy JD Vance publicly berated the Ukrainian.
