White House hasn’t ruled out Zelensky being in Alaska during Trump-Putin meeting on Friday

A diplomatic scramble unfolded Saturday after President Donald Trump announced he would meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, next week in Alaska, as European leaders rushed to understand the terms of the meeting and ensure Ukraine was not being left out of discussions about its future.

In a hurriedly scheduled meeting on Saturday, European officials made their case to Vice President JD Vance in the English countryside. A ceasefire must come before any peace negotiations, and Ukraine itself must be fully participating, the leaders of a number of European countries later stated, even if they backed Trump’s diplomatic initiatives.

Trump and Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska on Friday, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited. Two people familiar with the situation told CNN that the White House hasn’t entirely ruled out Zelensky attending some sessions. Anything involving Zelensky would probably take place following the Trump-Putin meeting, a White House official said.

The summit has rapidly taken shape, and specifics are still being finalized. The precise site has not yet been disclosed.

Trump is still “open to a trilateral summit with both leaders,” according to a White House official, but “the White House is planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin.”

There has been a vigorous diplomatic push behind the scenes to win over US friends since Trump announced plans to meet with Putin in a social media post on Friday.

Notably, Trump’s release omitted any information regarding Zelensky’s inclusion in the process or when. Meanwhile, Zelensky and European officials have made it clear that any talks on resolving the war must include Ukraine.

Vance hosted a meeting on Saturday at the British foreign secretary’s country house, where European officials outlined their demands and asked US authorities for additional details regarding the proposal Putin provided to US ambassador Steve Witkoff on Wednesday.

According to Western sources, they stressed many issues, including the need for Ukraine to participate in the negotiations, the need for a truce before taking further action, and the requirement that Russia give up area it now controls if Ukraine makes territorial concessions.

The leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Finland later issued a statement in which they praised President Trump’s efforts to “end the Russian Federation’s war of aggression, stop the killing in Ukraine, and achieve just and lasting peace and security for Ukraine.”

But according to Western sources, it included the contours of a peace plan that seemed to deviate from the one Putin has proposed, in which he is requesting major territory concessions.

Ukraine is free to choose its own course in life. Only when there is a truce or other reduction in hostilities can there be meaningful negotiations. Without Ukraine, the way to peace in Ukraine cannot be determined,” the united statement said. “We are still steadfast in our belief that force should never be used to alter international borders. Negotiations should begin with the existing line of contact.

Additionally, the statement stated that “robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity” must be included in any diplomatic agreement to stop the war.

With Witkoff’s meeting in Moscow this week, the parameters amounted to an attempt by European leaders to quickly respond to the swiftly developing diplomacy.

When reporters pressed Trump on Friday on the specifics of a deal, he said it might involve “some swapping of territories.”

According to European perceptions, Putin put up a plan that would compel Ukraine to cede the whole eastern Donbas region, which is partially occupied by Russia. However, even after multiple follow-up phone calls between Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Europeans, the precise details of the plan were still not quite clear.

It was unclear what would happen to Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which Russia only partially controls, the other two areas that Moscow has been targeting. According to the officials, the future state of US security guarantees was also unclear.

As a result, European authorities are eager to learn more about the specifics of a ceasefire since they have voiced concerns about Ukraine potentially giving up territory.

In an effort to alleviate some of those worries, Vance called a lengthy meeting on Saturday with European and Ukrainian officials, as well as UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, to outline the US position on discussions and how American officials interpret Russia’s position. Witkoff participated electronically at the meeting.

A US official told CNN that “significant progress” was made, but it is still unclear whether there is European or Ukrainian buy-in heading into Friday’s critical meeting.

Zelensky stated following the meeting on Saturday that he thought the US was paying attention.

“They are listening to our arguments. In an address, he stated, “The risks are being considered.”