Trump resists Zelensky’s presence at Alaska summit with Putin

US President Donald Trump has expressed concern that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's participation in the summit in Alaska could complicate or even disrupt his negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite European leaders' insistence on including Ukraine in the negotiations, the format of the meeting changed following behind-the-scenes agreements.

The Wall Street Journal reports.

Trump on Zelensky's participation in the Alaska summit

According to sources from the Wall Street Journal, US President Donald Trump privately admitted that he was concerned about disrupting the planned talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin because of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's presence. On August 13, European leaders and Zelensky presented Trump with five "red lines" to take into account during the upcoming negotiations.

Initially, European officials sought to participate directly in the Alaska summit, which will also be attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. They proposed including Secretary-General Mark Rutte or another EU leader in the delegation with Zelensky. However, after negotiations between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Trump, this demand was withdrawn. Nevertheless, Europeans continue to publicly advocate for Ukraine's participation in negotiations with Putin.

According to sources, Trump promised Merz that Zelensky would be invited to a second meeting with Putin if the Alaska talks created conditions for direct contact. However, Trump stressed that, in the initial stage, Zelensky's presence could hinder dialogue with the Kremlin.

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that he would ideally play the role of mediator between Putin and Zelensky after the Alaska summit. As agreed, after meeting with the Russian leader, Trump will hold briefings with Zelensky and then with the European participants in the negotiations separately. The US president also confirmed that he agrees with the European leaders and Kyiv on the "red lines" in negotiations with Moscow and aims to quickly organize a trilateral summit.

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