President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House on Aug. 18 for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Zelensky is joined in Washington by a delegation of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte are to join as well. The leaders are expected to take part in broader discussions following Zelensky’s one-on-one meeting with Trump, according to Reuters.

Five U.S. officials will join Trump in the Oval Office for the meeting, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, BBC reported on Aug. 18.Zelensky will be accompanied by Andriy Yermak, head of the president’s office, and Rustem Umerov, head of National Security and Defense Council.

Ahead of the White House talks, Zelensky met with European leaders at Ukraine’s embassy in Washington.

“Together with the leaders of Finland, the United Kingdom, Italy, the European Commission, and the NATO Secretary General, we coordinated our positions ahead of the meeting with President Trump,” Zelensky wrote on X.

“Ukraine is ready for a real truce and for establishing a new security architecture. We need peace,” Zelensky added.

The meeting comes just days after Trump’s Aug. 15 summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which did not include Zelensky and produced no breakthrough.

Trump later said he and Putin had “made some headway,” but European allies expressed concern over his openness to discussing land swaps or concessions to Moscow.

Ahead of the White House talks, Zelensky met Kellogg in Washington.

“President Trump invited Ukraine and other European countries to Washington today — this is the first meeting in such a format, and it is very serious,” Zelensky wrote on X, saying the talks focused on the battlefield situation, Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts, and the path to peace.

Trump has increased pressure on Zelensky ahead of the summit, posting on Truth Social that the Ukrainian president could end the war “almost immediately” if he chose to.

Trump suggested Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO or reclaim occupied Crimea under any settlement, signaling positions closer to Moscow’s demands.

Zelensky’s previous meeting with Trump at the White House in February devolved into a heated confrontation.

Read also: Trump’s Alaska folly

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