Trump To Meet With World Leaders At WH Amid Ongoing Russia-Ukraine Talks
President Donald Trump is set for a packed schedule in Washington this week as he meets with foreign leaders while his administration continues efforts to facilitate a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz disclosed on Fox News' "America Reports" that Trump is scheduled to meet with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron during his fifth week back in the Oval Office.
This announcement follows Macron's recent call for an urgent summit of world leaders, expressing frustration over the Trump administration's exclusion of European nations from direct negotiations aimed at resolving the Ukraine-Russia conflict, according to Fox News.
"Just a few months ago, everyone was talking about this war as though it would never end," Waltz stated on "America Reports" after confirming that Starmer and Macron would be visiting Washington, D.C.
"In just a very short amount of time, President Trump has us, everyone – the Ukrainians, the Russians, the Europeans – talking about it now and debating.… Only President Trump could drive that shift in conversation. And we have to acknowledge that that’s happened," added Waltz, a former congressman and U.S. Army Special Forces officer.
Last week, Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff traveled to Riyadh for discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor, Yuri Ushakov, to explore possible resolutions to the conflict, Fox News reported.
Notably, Ukraine was not included in these talks in Saudi Arabia, a move that prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to reaffirm that Ukraine would not agree to any peace deal unless it was directly involved in the negotiations.
Speaking to reporters in Turkey on Tuesday, Zelenskyy reiterated that Kyiv would not accept any peace agreement unless it had a direct seat at the table.
Trump recently intensified his criticism of Zelenskyy, calling him a weak negotiator and expressing frustration with the ongoing war effort.
"I’ve been watching this man for years now as his cities get demolished, as his people get killed, as his soldiers get decimated," Trump told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade last week. "I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards, and you get sick of it. You just get sick of it, and I’ve had it."
"I get tired of listening to it," Trump continued. "I’ve seen it enough, and then he complains that he’s not at a meeting that we’re having with Saudi Arabia trying to intermediate peace. Well, he’s been at meetings for three years with a… president who didn’t know what the hell he was doing."
"He’s been at the meetings for three years and nothing got done, so I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you. He’s been there for three years. He makes it very hard to make deals," Trump added.
On Friday, Trump also criticized Macron and Starmer, asserting that they "haven’t done anything" since 2022 to contribute to ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump’s remarks about Zelenskyy have reportedly unsettled European leaders who have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine. Macron, in comments made on Thursday, suggested he intends to challenge Trump during their meeting.
"Trump, I know him. I respect him and I believe he respects me," Macron, who arrived in Washington, D.C., on Monday for the meeting, said during a social media Q&A session. "I will tell him: deep down you cannot be weak in the face of President (Vladimir Putin). It’s not you, it’s not what you’re made of, and it’s not in your interests."
Starmer, who is set to meet with Trump on Thursday, echoed similar sentiments while speaking in Scotland on Sunday, emphasizing that Ukraine must be involved in any discussions about its future.
"Nobody wants the bloodshed to continue. Nobody, least of all the Ukrainians," he said Sunday, as reported by Reuters.
"But after everything that they have suffered, after everything that they have fought for, there could be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine, and the people of Ukraine must have a long-term secure future," the UK leader added.