Zelenskiy Wins EU, NATO Backing as He Seeks Place at Table with Trump, Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy won backing from Europe and NATO on Sunday as he rallied diplomatic support ahead of a Russia-US summit this week where Kyiv fears Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump may try to dictate terms for ending the 3-1/2-year war.
Trump, who for weeks had been threatening new sanctions against Russia for failing to halt the conflict, announced instead last Friday that he would hold an August 15 summit with Putin in Alaska.
A White House official said on Saturday that Trump was open to Zelenskiy attending, but that preparations currently were for a bilateral meeting with Putin, Reuters reported.
The Kremlin leader last week ruled out meeting Zelenskiy, saying the conditions for such an encounter were “unfortunately still far” from being met.
Trump said a potential deal would involve “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both (sides)”, a statement that compounded Ukrainian alarm that it may face pressure to surrender more land.
Zelenskiy says any decisions taken without Ukraine will be “stillborn” and unworkable. On Saturday the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said that any diplomatic solution must protect the security interests of Ukraine and Europe.
