Poland will not attend Trump’s summit with Zelenskyy and European leaders: Here’s why
Photo: Poland will not be present at the meeting between Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European leaders (president.gov.ua)
The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled for today at the White House. An expanded-format summit with the participation of European leaders is also expected. However, Poland will not be among them, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski said, according to Polsat News.
The politician admitted that Poland currently does not have the same international influence as Germany or the United Kingdom. When asked whether the absence of the Polish delegation in Washington would be considered a diplomatic failure, he noted that US presidents usually negotiate directly with other presidents, making exceptions only for the largest countries.
"Poland is a medium-sized country; it does not have the same international leverage as Germany or the United Kingdom," Bartoszewski explained, adding that the absence of the Polish side "is not a problem."
"President Trump is inviting to Washington. As you can see, he did not invite President Nawrocki," Bartoszewski also responded to the host’s remark about the lack of invitation for Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
According to the diplomat, key decisions at the summit will be made within a narrow American circle, while the influence of European participants will remain limited.
Trump–Zelenskyy meeting at the White House
Today, August 18, a meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with European leaders, is scheduled to take place at the White House. The summit follows Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday.
According to Western media, Trump and Zelenskyy are expected to discuss possible paths to ending the war. Reports also mention a new potential date - August 22 - for another meeting, this time in a trilateral format with Trump, Zelenskyy, and Putin.
As reported, Trump and Putin met in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine. Trump described the talks as positive, but no agreement was reached. Moreover, the meeting itself did not go as originally planned.
For more details on what happened in Alaska and what Trump and Putin discussed, see the material by RBC-Ukraine.
