Zelenskyy insists on ‘guarantees of peace and security’ ahead of meeting with Trump
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “guarantees of peace and security” were vital ahead of expected talks in Washington on Friday.
“Today, there has been a lot of international work,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video address on Wednesday.
Our teams are working with the United States as we prepare for negotiations this Friday.
“Peace and security guarantees are the key to ensuring that Russia can no longer destroy the lives of other nations,” he added.
On his meeting with Donald Trump, Zelenskyy said:
For me and for all of us in the world, it’s important that US support is not stopped. Strength is needed on the path to peace.”
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Key events
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Closing summary
Donald Trump said Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a rare earth minerals deal to pay for US military aid to defend against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Trump said the Ukrainian leader would be signing a “very big agreement” which he said would allow the US to get “money back”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “guarantees of peace and security” were vital as Kyiv and Washington prepare for talks on Friday. “For me and for all of us in the world, it’s important that US support is not stopped. Strength is needed on the path to peace,” Zelenskyy said during his evening address on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy said earlier on Wednesday that without future security guarantees for Ukraine there would be no “just peace … we will not have a ceasefire.” Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal said a minerals deal had been agreed, and that Washington would commit to supporting Kyiv’s efforts to obtain security guarantees.
But Trump said the US would not be making far-reaching security guarantees to Ukraine as part of the deal. “I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond – very much. We’re going to have Europe do that,” Trump said during his first cabinet meeting. Trump also insisted that Kyiv “can forget about” joining Nato.
Zelenskyy is expected to visit the UK this weekend as Keir Starmer is due to host a summit of European leaders to discuss defence, according to PA news agency. Zelenskyy’s reported visit will come after his reported trip to Washington on Friday.
A planned meeting between the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, and US secretary of state Marco Rubio have been cancelled. Both sides blamed scheduling challenges, Associated Press reports, but European officials said they were caught off-guard.
Russian and US diplomats will meet on Thursday for talks aimed at restoring their respective diplomatic missions. The talks in Istanbul will not include any discussions on Ukraine, US state department officials said. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov again ruled out “any options” for European peacekeepers being sent to Ukraine.
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Zelenskyy insists on ‘guarantees of peace and security’ ahead of meeting with Trump
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “guarantees of peace and security” were vital ahead of expected talks in Washington on Friday.
“Today, there has been a lot of international work,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video address on Wednesday.
Our teams are working with the United States as we prepare for negotiations this Friday.
“Peace and security guarantees are the key to ensuring that Russia can no longer destroy the lives of other nations,” he added.
On his meeting with Donald Trump, Zelenskyy said:
For me and for all of us in the world, it’s important that US support is not stopped. Strength is needed on the path to peace.”
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High level US-EU talks abruptly cancelled
A planned meeting between the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, and US secretary of state Marco Rubio have been cancelled, Associated Press reports.
Both sides blamed scheduling challenges, the news agency reports.
European officials said they were caught off-guard, it says, with Kallas having previewed her planned talks with Rubio to reporters earlier this week.
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We reported earlier that Russian and US diplomats will meet in Istanbul tomorrow for talks aimed at restoring their respective diplomatic missions.
The US delegation will be led by deputy assistant secretary of state Sonata Coulter, while the Russian delegation will be led by ministry of foreign affairs director of the North Atlantic department, Aleksandr Darchiyev, Reuters reports.
Thursday’s talks will not include any discussions on Ukraine, the US state department said.
“To be clear, there are no political or security issues on the agenda. Ukraine is not on the agenda,” a state department spokesperson said, adding:
The constructiveness of these talks will become apparent very quickly; either issues will get resolved or they won’t. We will know soon if Russia is really willing to engage in good faith.
They added that the respective embassies in Moscow and Washington, as well as Russian consulates in New York and Houston, would be discussed, but not Russia’s mission to the United Nations.
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Summary of the day so far
Léonie Chao-Fong
It’s 8.45pm in Kyiv, 9.45pm in Moscow and 1.45pm in Washington. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Donald Trump said Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a rare earth minerals deal to pay for US military aid to defend against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Trump said the Ukrainian leader would be signing a “very big agreement” which he said would allow the US to get “money back”. A White House official earlier cast doubt on Zelenskyy’s visit, claiming that “if the Ukrainian leader says the deal isn’t finalised, I don’t see why an invitation would make sense.”
Trump said that the US would not be making far-reaching security guarantees to Ukraine as part of the deal. “I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond – very much. We’re going to have Europe do that,” Trump said during his first cabinet meeting. He suggested that Kyiv will have “automatic security” because “nobody’s going to be messing around with people when we’re there.”
Trump said Ukraine can “forget about” joining Nato and that Vladimir Putin “is going to have to”. make some concessions”. Trump described the Russian leader as a “very smart guy”. He declined to detail what concessions he would ask the two sides to make, and said he hopes to soon speak face to face with Putin.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said no security guarantee with the US has been agreed and described a deal between the two countries as a “framework”. Without future security guarantees for Ukraine there would be no “just peace … we will not have a ceasefire,” he said. The Ukrainian president said the success of a potential deal would depend on talks with Trump, adding that the most important thing was that it did not cast Kyiv as a debtor that would have to pay back hundreds of billions of dollars for past military assistance.
Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal said the minerals deal had been agreed, and that Washington would commit to supporting Kyiv’s efforts to obtain security guarantees. Shmyhal described it as a “preliminary” agreement, adding that Kyiv would authorise the agreed wording later on Wednesday. Ukraine would never “sign or consider … a colonial treaty that did not take into account the interests of the state,” he added.
Zelenskyy is expected to visit the UK this weekend as Keir Starmer is due to host a summit of European leaders to discuss defence, according to PA news agency. Zelenskyy’s reported visit will come after his reported trip to Washington on Friday.
Russian and US diplomats will meet on Thursday for talks aimed at restoring their respective diplomatic missions. The talks in Istanbul will not include any discussions on Ukraine, US state department officials said. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov again ruled out “any options” for European peacekeepers being sent to Ukraine. The Kremlin said there no current plans for Putin and Trump to speak directly on the phone.
Ukrainian troops said they had launched a successful counterattack in the eastern Donetsk region, gaining control over the village of Kotlyne near a key transit artery and the logistics hub of Pokrovsk. Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces near the rail and mining hub of Pokrovsk is some of the fiercest of the invasion launched by the Kremlin in February 2022.
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Trump says Ukraine can ‘forget about’ joining Nato
Donald Trump said Ukraine can “forget about” joining Nato.
“You can forget about it. That’s probably the reason the whole thing started,” the US president told reporters.
He added that he had “very good” conversations with the Ukrainian and Russian presidents, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.
“We’re going to do the best we can to make the best deal we can for both sides,” he added.
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Trump says Putin ‘very smart, cunning’ but will have to make concessions
Donald Trump, speaking to reporters during his first cabinet meeting, was asked about his views on Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“He’s a very smart guy, he’s a very cunning person,” Trump said, adding that Putin had no intention of settling the war until he was back in the White House.
“If I didn’t get elected he would have continued to have gone through Ukraine,” he said. “Over a period of time, a lot of people would have been killed.”
Asked if Putin will have to make concessions in negotiations to end the war, Trump said: “Yeah, he will … He’s going to have to”.
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‘We’re going to have Europe do that’: Trump says US will not make security guarantees ‘beyond very much’
Donald Trump, at his first cabinet meeting, said he believed the US is negotiating “very successfully” with Russia and Ukraine.
The US president suggested that a ceasefire deal is close. “We’re going to make a deal with Russia and Ukraine to stop killing people,” he told reporters.
Asked if he is willing to make security guarantees as part of the deal, Trump replied:
I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much … We’re going to have Europe do that, because Europe is the next door neighbour.
He added that the US will be partnering with Ukraine “in terms of rare earth.” “We very much need rare earth, they have great rare earth,” Trump said.
Trump said it was “great deal for Ukraine too, because they get us over there, we are going to be working over there”.
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Updated at 13.19 EST
Zelenskyy to visit UK this weekend – report
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to visit the UK this weekend, PA news agency reports.
According to the report, Zelenskyy is planning to make the trip as Keir Starmer is due to host a summit of European leaders to discuss defence.
At a press conference in Downing Street on Tuesday, the UK prime minister said he is hosting “a number of countries” for defence discussions this weekend.
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Trump confirms Zelenskyy to visit Washington to sign ‘very big’ agreement
Donald Trump has confirmed that he will be meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington on Friday to sign a critical minerals deal.
“We’re doing very well with Russia-Ukraine,” the US president said during his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday
President Zelenskyy is going to be coming on Friday, that is now confirmed.
Trump said he and Zelenskyy will be “signing an agreement, which will be a very big agreement.”
He said his administration is “happy about” the deal, adding:
We’ve been able to make a deal where we’re going to get our money back and we’re going to get a lot of money in the future, and I think that’s appropriate.
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Trump: Zelenskyy coming to US on Friday to sign rare earths agreement
Reuters has a quick snap saying Trump has said Zelenskyy is coming to Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on rare earth minerals and other topics.
Trump added “we will get our money back” at the Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday.
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Updated at 12.02 EST
Ukraine not on agenda in US-Russia talks in Istanbul on 27 February – state department
Reuters has a quick snap that the US-Russia meeting due to take place in Istanbul on 27 February will focus on operations of bilateral diplomatic missions, according to a state department spokesperson.
The spokesperson added that Ukraine is not on the agenda in the talks and that no political or security issues were on the agenda.
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Updated at 11.43 EST
