Key European leaders, NATO chief to join Trump-Zelensky talks in Washington

A group of senior European leaders and NATO chief will travel to Washington on Monday to join talks on Ukraine with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte are all set to attend the meeting.

The German government said the trip will serve as an "information exchange" following Trump's recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

"Chancellor Merz will discuss the current peace efforts with the heads of state and government and underscore Germany's interest in a swift peace agreement," government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement.

He added that talks would focus on security guarantees, territorial questions, support for Ukraine's defense and maintaining sanctions pressure on Russia.

In Helsinki, the Finnish presidency confirmed Stubb's participation in what it called "a meeting on peace in Ukraine."

Von der Leyen, meanwhile, stated on US social media platform X that after hosting Zelensky in Brussels on Sunday and participating in a Coalition of the Willing conference, she would travel to Washington at Zelensky's request to join the White House talks.

The Elysee and Italian news agency ANSA separately confirmed the attendance of Macron and Meloni, respectively. Meanwhile, Rutte's participation was announced by the alliance.

A Downing Street statement also confirmed that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer would attend the US-Ukraine talks.

At the meeting that will take place on Monday, Starmer, with other European partners, "stands ready to support this next phase of further talks and will reaffirm that his backing for Ukraine will continue as long as it takes," the statement said.

On Friday, Trump and Putin had a three-hour closed-door meeting, with the Russian leader saying they had come to reach an "understanding."

After the meeting, Trump said that it is now up to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders "to get it done."

"A lot of points were agreed on, there's not that much, you know, one or two pretty significant items, but I think they can be reached," Trump said during a Fox News interview following his historic sit-down with Putin in Alaska.

"Now, it's really up to President Zelensky to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit, but it's up to President Zelensky," he added.