Zelensky said he supports Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia, noting that the three leaders can cover the “key issues.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 18 to discuss ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, following a call between the two leaders on Aug. 16. The lengthy call comes a day after Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska, to which Zelensky was not invited. While Trump said he and Putin “made some headway” in peace talks, the summit saw no agreement to end the war in Ukraine. Zelensky said he supports Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia, noting that the three leaders can cover the “key issues.” He added that Trump invited him to Washington on Aug. 18, where they will discuss "the end of the killings, the end of the war."Trump briefed the Ukrainian leader about his meeting with Putin, while Zelensky stressed the importance of Washington’s influence on the peace process. Zelensky first spoke to Trump one-on-one for an hour before European leaders joined for additional 30 minutes.According to Ukrainian media Suspilne, the other phone call attendees included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.Zelensky said that Europe needs to be involved at every stage of the peace process, in order to "reliably guarantee security."Some European officials criticized the Alaskan summit as a win for Putin while Trump got nothing in return. Following the summit, Trump said that he and Putin had “largely agreed” on territorial swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine. Ahead of the meeting, Trump said that both sides would have to agree to “swap” land, although it is unclear what exactly he meant by that. “I think we’re pretty close to a deal,” Trump said, adding: "Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they’ll say no."Zelensky has previously said he would not give up territory to Russia as part of peace negotiations.

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