WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Alliance News): US President Donald Trump ruled out Ukraine reclaiming Crimea or joining NATO, as President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington on Monday for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the war with Russia.
Zelensky, who has consistently rejected territorial concessions, will meet Trump alongside European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, NATO chief Mark Rutte, and leaders of Britain, Finland, France, Germany, and Italy.
The meeting follows Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. That session failed to secure a ceasefire but produced pledges of “robust security guarantees” for Ukraine.
Zelensky was excluded from the Alaska talks, where Trump echoed Moscow’s long-held stance that no ceasefire was needed before a final peace deal.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump wrote on social media.
“No getting back Obama-given Crimea… and no going into NATO by Ukraine. Some things never change!”
This is Zelensky’s first visit to Washington since February, when a row with Trump and Vice President JD Vance erupted after they accused him of being “ungrateful.” On his arrival Sunday night, Zelensky said: “We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.”
Trump has floated the idea of offering Ukraine NATO-style collective defense guarantees outside the alliance’s framework. French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe will press Trump on Washington’s role in such guarantees.
Aides said Moscow may be willing to make “some concessions” in territories it partially controls, but concerns remain in Europe that Washington could pressure Kyiv into accepting Russian terms.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski warned: “For peace to prevail, pressure must be applied to the aggressor, not the victim of aggression.” Macron added that Russia’s version of peace amounted to “capitulation.”
Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Kharkiv killed three people and wounded dozens, while strikes in Sumy injured two more, Ukrainian officials reported Monday.
