Zelensky returns to ‘lion’s den’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returns to the Oval Office on Monday, nearly six months after a nightmarish meeting with United States President Donald Trump marked by a tense exchange with the American leader and US Vice President JD Vance who accused him of not being thankful of the multi-million dollar military support given to Kyiv.

Zelensky is reportedly grateful for Trump’s invitation to meet again, hopeful that it may pave way for an end to Russian military aggression and invasion.

Besides, another shouting match seems far-fetched this time even with Vance around as Zelensky will be accompanied by European Union (EU) leaders who are as eager for a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow brokered by Trump.

The US leader is coming from a meeting dubbed “Pursuing Peace” with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday that did not achieve a hoped for ceasefire.

After the Trump-Zelensky one-on-one, they will be joined by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Mark Rutte and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. Their presence is not to prevent another Oval Office meltdown like what happened on 28 February but to coordinate on the path toward peace negotiations, especially on how to prevent any future Russian invasion.

The Trump administration says it is now open to providing Ukraine security guarantees, a shift hailed Sunday by Ukrainian and European leaders, including Zelensky himself.

European leaders have expressed unease from the outset over Trump’s outreach to Putin, who has demanded Ukraine abandon its ambitions to join the EU or NATO. They were excluded from Trump’s summit with Putin.

Russian security guarantees

Meanwhile, White House envoy Steve Witkoff said Putin and Trump had agreed to provide “robust security guarantees” to Ukraine during their Alaska talks.

Witkoff, in his CNN interview, said the process of offering “game-changing” security guarantees would involve territorial “concessions.”

Zelensky, speaking alongside Von der Leyen at a news conference in Brussels, rejected the idea of Russia offering his country security guarantees.

“What President Trump said about security guarantees is much more important to me than Putin’s thoughts, because Putin will not give any security guarantees,” he said.

Zelensky later said on social media that the US offer regarding security guarantees was “historic.”