By DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will join European leaders in London this weekend for defence and security talks amid concerns over US support for its allies.
Volodymyr Zelensky will join European leaders in London this weekend for talks about defence and security amid fears over US support for its allies.
The Ukrainian president will reportedly join Sir Keir Starmer and figures including France‘s Emmanuel Macron in the wake of their visits to Washington to see Donald Trump.
The PM is flying to Washington this afternoon as he prepares to urge Mr Trump to stand by Nato and Ukraine.
In a hopeful sign, Kyiv and America look to be on the brink of agreeing a deal to exploit mineral resources – which could encourage Mr Trump to maintain support.
He insisted at Prime Minister’s Questions he would be giving a message to the US president that Ukraine must be ‘at the table’ in any peace talks with Russia – and dismissed Mr Trump’s jibes that Volodymyr Zelensky is a ‘dictator’.
Trump has also said that Mr Zelensky will visit the White House on Friday to sign an economic deal that will include US access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals.
However president Zelensky has said a framework economic deal with the United States is ready – but security guarantees that Kyiv views as vital remain to be decided.
A senior Ukrainian official said late Tuesday that Kyiv had agreed on the terms of the deal, which would see the United States jointly develop Ukraine’s mineral resources, and that Zelensky could sign it on Friday in Washington.
‘I would like to have this visit very much,’ Zelensky told reporters on Wednesday. ‘This is just a start, a framework, it can be a big success. The success will depend on our conversation with President Trump,’ he added.
But there is confusion as to whether Zelensky will actually be visiting Washington after a White House official raised doubts about whether an invitation to meet Trump would make sense given Zelensky’s comments that a minerals deal is not complete.
