Zelenskyy arrives in Washington, stresses enduring peace
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in the US. During his meeting with President Donald Trump, he pledged to pursue lasting peace and compel Russia to end the war, according to the Ukrainian leader’s Telegram channel.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that "we all want to end this war quickly and reliably,” emphasizing that peace must be long-lasting.
“Not like years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East - the Donbas region - and Putin used that simply as a springboard for a new attack. Or when Ukraine was given so-called ‘security guarantees’ in 1994, which didn’t work,” the president said.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine should not have ceded Crimea to Russia in 2014, just as after 2022, Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv.
He noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently achieving successes in the Donetsk and Sumy regions and stressed, “we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and our people will always be grateful to President Trump, to everyone in America, and to each partner for their support and invaluable assistance.”
“Russia must end this war, which it itself started. I hope that our joint strength with America and our European friends will force Russia into real peace,” Zelenskyy concluded.
Summit in Washington
On Sunday, August 17, representatives of the Coalition of the Willing met in Brussels. After the meeting, President Zelenskyy and European leaders traveled to the United States.
Today, August 18, Zelenskyy and the European delegation will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss potential scenarios for ending the war in Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump expressed Washington’s readiness to provide Ukraine with security guarantees to help bring the war to a close.
The US leader also indicated that Zelenskyy could quickly end the war if he agreed to recognize Russian control over Crimea and forgo Ukraine’s NATO membership.
