A very important visit to Ukraine … and for Donald Trump. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was expected this Friday, February 28 in Washington on Friday, February 28 to meet the US leader and sign a fiercely negotiated mineral agreement between the two countries in recent weeks. This text, which would give access to the United States to certain Ukrainian rare lands, could aim at relations between the billionaire and the power of kyiv, targets many attacks from the White House since the coming to power of the Republican. On Thursday, during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Donald Trump thus challenged that he had described as “dictator” his Ukrainian counterpart: “I said that?”, He asked against journalists.
This visit comes at a time when Ukraine faces a more than uncertain future. Russian troops continue their offensive in the east of the country, more than three years after launching their invasion. In mid-February, the United States and Russia began in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) peace talks, without including kyiv in the discussion. An approach that worried the international community. This week, Emmanuel Macron then Keir Starmer moved across the Atlantic to meet President Trump and share their will with a peacekeeping plan on Ukrainian territory once an agreement has been negotiated with the Kremlin.
Info to remember
⇒ Volodymyr Zelensky moves to Washington to conclude the agreement on minerals
⇒ After his virulent criticisms against the Ukrainian president, Donald Trump to soften his comments
⇒ NATO remains the best security guarantee for Ukraine, assures the EU diplomacy head
08h05
A dozen leaders invited by Keir Starmer to a Ukraine summit
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer invited more than a dozen European leaders to a summit on Sunday to “advance” their actions concerning Ukraine and security, his office announced on Friday. That day, after a telephone meeting in the morning with the Baltic countries, Keir Starmer will welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Downing Street. Then he will bring together in the afternoon, during a summit in London, leaders of several European countries, including France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, as well as NATO and the European Union.
Keir Starmer met Donald Trump on Thursday in Washington on Thursday, three days after Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the White House. During their press conference, Donald Trump warned that a truce in Ukraine should be found “soon”, at the risk of not finding it “at all”. The Labor Manager for his part spoke of a “moment of real danger” but also called to avoid any agreement which “rewards the aggressor”.
The British Prime Minister said that his country was ready to “send soldiers and planes” to Ukraine to dissuade Russia from returning to the attack once peace has returned, but he did not obtain from his host the assurance that the United States would support such an effort by providing security guarantees. Donald Trump nevertheless affirmed his “support” in article 5 of NATO, his cornerstone which provides assistance between his member states in the event of assault. “I do not think that we are going to have reason to use it,” added the American president, who said he was also convinced that Vladimir Putin “would last to speak” in the event of a ceasefire.
07:10
Volodymyr Zelensky expected in Washington
For him, this is a crucial trip: the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky goes to Washington, the United States, this Friday to meet his counterpart Donald Trump. Their maintenance must start around 11:00 am local (5:00 p.m. in France).
The opportunity for the two men to conclude the very debated agreement on Ukrainian minerals, which has been the subject of harsh negotiations between Washington and kyiv in recent weeks. “We are going to dig, dig, dig,” said the American president on Thursday, who sees the signing of this text as a “safety net” for Ukraine. “I do not think that anyone will seek trouble if we are (in Ukraine) with many workers” to exploit minerals, believes the republican., Who has severely criticized his Ukrainian counterpart since coming to power.
This visit occurs a few days after violent criticism from Donald Trump against the Ukrainian president, which he seemed to be minimized on Thursday. Questioned by a journalist about having described his counterpart as a “dictator without elections”, Donald Trump preferred to pretend to be forgotten: “I said that? I can’t believe that I said that. Before adding that he had “a lot of respect” for Volodymyr Zelensky.
07:00
NATO, better security guarantee for Ukraine, according to Kaja Kallas
The head of diplomacy of the European Union, Kaja Kallas, assured that the best security guarantee for Ukraine was to integrate NATO, as desired by its President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Sunday, the latter had ironically proposed to give way to power in exchange for the entry of his country into the Atlantic Alliance. But US President Donald Trump refuses this perspective for the moment. During an interview with AFP, Kaja Kallas also argued that “Europeans must be on board” peace agreement negotiations with Moscow in Ukraine. “We have to participate in these discussions. I think that without that, we cannot bring anything,” said the head, ex-prime minister of Estonia, a border country in Russia.
After the offensive speech against Europe of the US vice-president JD Vance at the Munich Conference in mid-February, several European countries were worried about a possible disengagement from the United States to ensure its safety. Kaja Kallas recalled the importance of the transatlantic link between the two continents. “Why are we in NATO? Because we are afraid of Russia. And the only thing that really works, the only safety guarantee that works is the umbrella of NATO,” she said.