Meloni to attend Zelensky-Trump meeting in Washington

 WASHINGTON - Following the announcement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to join several other European heads of state in Washington for the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump on Monday, following the summit in Alaska between the US president and Vladimir Putin, reports Il Fatto Quotidiano. The invitation was also sent to French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Sunday during a phone call in which Trump reported the contents of his nearly 3 hour long meeting with Putin.

 This is Zelensky’s first return to Washington since his visit in February when the much-discussed verbal confrontation with Trump and Vice President Vance took place. Although Zelensky opposes the ceding of Donetsk and Luhansk in exchange for a freeze on the line of combat in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, he is willing to negotiate another ceasefire. The Ukrainian leader is also willing to engage in a three-way summit, which Trump says could occur as early as August 22.

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