LONDON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the American people and leadership and voiced hope for “strong relations,” a day after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with US President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood.
Zelenskyy on Saturday arrived in London ahead of a summit on Sunday organised by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with other European leaders.
The summit will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.
The meltdown that unfolded on Friday in the final minutes of the highly anticipated meeting at the White House between Trump and Zelenskyy seemed to dash, at least for now, Ukrainian hopes that the United States could be locked in as a reliable partner in helping fend off, and conclude, Russia’s three-year onslaught.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he had to “find a way to restore his relationship with the American president” after the two leaders engaged in an extraordinary meltdown at the White House on Friday.
Rutte told the BBC on Saturday that he told Zelenskyy that “he really had to respect what President Trump has done so far for Ukraine.” He was referring to the first Trump administration’s decision in 2019 to supply Ukraine with Javelin antitank missiles that Ukraine used to deadly effect against Russian tanks in the first wave of the 2022 invasion.
Calling the Friday meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy “unfortunate,” Rutte said he “knew as a fact that the American administration is extremely invested in making sure that Ukraine gets to a durable peace” with Russia. Rutte said he expected European leaders, who were meeting in London on Sunday, to help secure a future peace deal by providing Ukraine with security guarantees.
