(MENAFN) Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky has urged European leaders to participate in his upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump to discuss solutions for the ongoing conflict with Russia.

The appeal came after several days of intense coordination with his Western European allies, who were caught off guard by a US submission of a draft peace proposal to Kiev last week.

Both Kiev and the European Union are pushing for a ceasefire prior to negotiations to counteract the accelerating deterioration along the front lines.

Meanwhile, Moscow has insisted that any agreements must be preceded by a long-term peace arrangement.

“I am ready to meet with President Trump – there are sensitive points to discuss, we still have them – and we believe that the presence of European leaders could be helpful,” Zelensky stated on Tuesday during an address to EU officials, a video of which was shared by his office.
In response, Trump has downplayed Zelensky’s request for immediate discussions and revealed that he will dispatch his envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow for talks.

When Zelensky met Trump in August, following the US president’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, he was accompanied by seven Western representatives, including NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the heads of Finland, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

A leaked version of the initial US proposal reportedly required Kiev to give up several longstanding “red lines,” such as its pursuit of NATO membership and certain territorial claims against Russia.

Ukrainian authorities claim they successfully persuaded Washington to make significant revisions to the draft.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that if the updated draft strays from what Moscow considers the original “spirit of Anchorage,” the circumstances could become “radically different.”

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