Zelensky to meet Trump in Washington to push for peace after Alaska Summit

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced today that he will travel to Washington, D.C., on Monday, August 18, to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, following a “long and substantive” phone call with Trump and European leaders.

The discussions, which focused on the outcomes of Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, signal a critical juncture in efforts to end Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

Zelensky’s trip comes as he endorses Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia, a format Kyiv has long advocated but which Moscow has resisted.

In his first public statement since the Alaska summit on August 15, from which he was notably excluded, Zelensky emphasized Ukraine’s commitment to peace.

“Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace,” he said on Telegram.

“President Trump informed [me] about his meeting with the Russian leader and the main points of their discussion. It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation.”

Zelensky expressed gratitude for Trump’s invitation to Washington, where he aims to discuss “all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.”

The Alaska summit, held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, ended without a ceasefire agreement, despite Trump’s optimistic portrayal of the talks as “very successful” and Putin’s claim of an “understanding” on Ukraine.

Zelensky’s exclusion from the summit drew criticism from European allies and Ukrainian officials, who reiterated the principle of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”

In response, Zelensky held a one-on-one call with Trump for about an hour, followed by a broader discussion with European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, among others.

The call, lasting over 90 minutes, focused on coordinating strategies to ensure Ukraine’s security and involvement in peace talks.

Zelensky voiced strong support for Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting with Putin, stating, “Ukraine emphasizes that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this.”

This marks a significant development, as Kyiv has consistently pushed for direct involvement in negotiations, while Russia has resisted such a format.

However, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian state media that a trilateral meeting “has not been touched upon yet” in U.S.-Russia discussions, casting uncertainty on its feasibility.