European leaders in a “coalition of the willing” are rushing to show unity before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Washington Monday.
The push comes after Axios first reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from two eastern regions during his Friday summit with President Donald Trump in Alaska.
Trump is now pressing for a three-way summit with Putin and Zelenskyy “fast,” possibly as early as Aug. 22.
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will meet virtually Sunday.
President Zelenskyy will meet with President Donald Trump Monday after a summit with President Putin in Alaska Friday. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The White House did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
For Zelenskyy, the stakes are high. He’ll arrive in Washington on Monday as President Trump takes the lead in pushing for a settlement. European leaders believe their coalition can give Zelenskyy added support as he enters the talks. The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Starmer and Macron are two chiefs of state partners in the European “coalition of the willing” in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia War. (Tom Nicholson/Getty Images)
Trump has told Zelenskyy and other leaders he wants to move quickly toward a three-way meeting with Putin as early as Aug. 22, according to reporting from Axios. The goal, he has said, is to get all sides in the same room and test whether a breakthrough is possible. Such a summit would mark the first direct encounter between the three men since the war began.
