Zelensky set to meet European leaders in London

KABUL (Pajhwok): Following testy exchanges with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is all set to meet European leaders in London today (Sunday).

Zelensky, who arrived in Britain a day after his disastrous talks with Trump in the Oval Office, said King Charles had also accepted an invitation to meet him today.

According to CNN, British Premier Keir Starmer warmly received the Ukrainian leader at Downing Street on Saturday. The two sides inked an agreement to accelerate $2.8 billion worth of loans to Ukraine.

Today’s summit involving presidents and prime ministers from across Europe has been convened by Starmer. They are expected to assure Ukraine of continued support.

In a flurry of posts on X, the Ukrainian president insisted: “It’s crucial for us to have President Trump’s support. He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do.”

Ahead of the London summit, Starmer said: “Today I will reaffirm my unwavering support for Ukraine and double down on my commitment to provide capacity, training and aid to Ukraine, putting it in the strongest possible position,”.

Meeting Ukraine’s short-term needs, securing a lasting deal to end the conflict and planning for strong security guarantees are high on the summit agenda.

In Friday’s shouting match, Trump and his Vice President JD Vance bristled at Zelensky for not demonstrating enough gratitude for US support,

They hit out at him for impeding a peace deal with Russia. “Later, he was essentially kicked out of the White House and departed with a grim look on his face.”

An irate Trump told Zelensky: “You’re right now, not really in a very good position. You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position. You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.”

Vance tended to add fuel to the fire, excoriating Zelensky for being “disrespectful” toward his American hosts.

Without dining at the White House, the Ukrainian guests, who protested and wanted to continue the talks, were asked to leave.

As Zelensky left, he scrapped a planned speech at the Hudson Institute. He neither addressed a joint press conference nor signed a planned rare earth minerals deal with the US.

PAN Monitor/mud