White House 'considering' inviting Zelenskyy to Trump-Putin summit as Europeans present peace plan to Vance
The White House is 'considering' inviting Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a crunch summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin where a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war will be discussed.
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The US President is due to meet the Russian leader for talks on Friday in Alaska.
Sources speaking to NBC News said that it is "absolutely" possible that Zelenskyy, Trump and Putin would all be in the US state for the summit.
"Everyone is very hopeful that would happen."
Another official briefed on internal conversations said: "It's being discussed."
It is not clear whether the discussions involve Zelenskyy and Putin meeting face to face.
A senior White House official told the broadcaster: "The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders. Right now, the White House is focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin."
Announcing the talks, Trump suggested any ceasefire deal will include Russia and Ukraine "swapping territories" - a claim strongly denied by Zelenskyy.
"Of course, we will not give Russia awards for what it has done. The Ukrainian people deserve peace," Zelenskyy said on Saturday.
The intervention came as security officials from Ukraine, Europe and the United States met on Saturday ahead of Putin's meeting with Trump.
European leaders were presenting their alternative peace place to end the Russia-Ukraine war before the Alaska summit next week.
US vice-president JD Vance attended the summit on behalf of Mr Trump and outlined the American plan for the high-stakes meeting with Putin at a meeting co-hosted by Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening, his grace-and-favour mansion in Kent.
Present were Jonathan Powell, the UK’s national security adviser, Andriy Yermak, head of Zelenskyy’s office, and Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council.
According to The Wall Street Journal the European proposal states that any territorial concession by Ukraine must be safeguarded by ironclad security guarantees, including potential NATO membership.
Reports claim the proposed ceasefire would involve territory only be exchanged in a reciprocal manner, meaning that if Ukraine pulls out of some regions, Russia must withdraw from others.
A draft of the joint statement had been expected to be signed on Saturday night but a final version has not yet been published.