Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday he spoke with European leaders following his meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Zelenskyy told reporters outside the White House the call included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, President of Finland Alexander Stubb, Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
"One of the topics we discussed [regarding his meeting with Trump] was security guarantees," Zelenskyy said. "We want [the] United States to be part of the security. We count on the leadership of the United States.
"The Coalition of the Willing are our main European partners, and of course the United States. We also spoke about air defenses, very important, and drone attacks. We also spoke about [a program with our partners] — the United States and President Trump — who are open to creating this corridor for Europe, for NATO. The deliveries come from these countries and also from others. Europe paid for this and provided us with weapons."
Zelenskyy emphasized the security guarantees are essential for a ceasefire because Russian President Vladimir Putin could renege on any deal and resume hostilities.
"We discussed from the point we need United States security guarantees," he said. "We need the United States because only the United States speaks with Russia. Only President Trump has [dialogue] with Russia. And this is very important.
"We need strong security guarantees because I'm afraid, and I think our nation is afraid that if we have a ceasefire, we need security guarantees from the U.S. that Vladimir Putin will not come again with aggression."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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