After Vladimir Putin, it was Volodymyr Zelensky's turn. The Ukrainian president, who was not invited to the initial meeting between the Russian and American presidents in Alaska to discuss the war in his country, arrived in Washington on Monday, August 18, to meet Donald Trump. Zelensky will be accompanied by the main European heads of state and government, as well as the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The goal of this meeting, viewed as decisive, is to learn the details of the discussions between Trump and Putin, held Friday in Anchorage, and to defend the European position on the conflict. Kyiv especially hopes to discuss the US proposals for security guarantees, which are crucial to ensuring that Russia will not attack Ukrainian territory again if fighting stops. For the first time, Washington appears ready to offer such guarantees: the Trump administration has mentioned a form of guarantee similar to NATO's "Article 5," without Kyiv joining the alliance. The Kremlin has reportedly accepted this approach, according to the US special envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff, who made this statement on Sunday.

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