LAST UPDATE | 17 Aug 2025

A NUMBER OF European leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House tomorrow.

Zelenskyy is to travel to Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump tomorrow, following the latter’s summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that she would be joining Zelenskyy alongside other European leaders at his request.

Other European leaders set to attend include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Also heading to Washington are Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubbs. 

Today, the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’ – European leaders supporting Ukraine – met to discuss the war prior to their visit to the White House tomorrow. Taoiseach Micheál Martin joined online talks today.

I welcomed the opportunity to join other European leaders today to discuss developments on ending the war in Ukraine.

We had a very useful engagement with President Zelenskyy as he prepares to meet with President Trump tomorrow in Washington. pic.twitter.com/0tI5AXikOB

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) August 17, 2025

Martin said in a statement following the talks that he had stressed Ireland’s enduring call for a peace deal and welcomed Trump’s efforts to reach an end to the war in Ukraine. 

He said that he had reassured Zelenskyy of Ireland’s support for Ukraine.

In Alaska on Friday, Putin and Trump shook hands on the airfield’s runway and discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine in the Russian president’s first visit to the western world since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over three years ago. Ultimately, the two parted ways having come to no agreement.

Trump still hailed the meeting as a success, and insisted that it was “extremely productive” with “many points” agreed, although he did not offer specifics.

“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said on Friday.

Tense scenes from the last meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in the White House in February. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Travelling back to Washington from Alaska, Trump spoke on the phone to Zelenskyy, where the two arranged tomorrow’s meeting. Initially beginning as a one-to-one call, several European leaders later joined.

Tomorrow’s meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy will be the first time the two have reconvened in the White House since their infamous bust-up in February – a scene that saw Trump and his Vice President JD Vance berate Zelenskyy over not wearing a suit, accuse him of being unappreciative and “disrespectful”, and the meeting end early.