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The White House is mulling over the idea of inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to join President Trump for his eagerly awaited meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska next week.
According to senior officials and insiders from the White House, discussions are ongoing to possibly include Zelensky as both leaders gear up for their in-person meeting on Friday, aimed at resolving Moscow’s ongoing 41-month invasion of Ukraine, NBC News reported on Saturday.
“It’s being discussed,” said one person briefed on the internal talks.
Although no plans have been confirmed, a senior official mentioned that it’s “definitely” within the realm of possibility for the leader of Kyiv to make the trip to the Last Frontier state for this crucial summit.
“Everyone is very hopeful that would happen,” the official told the outlet.
If Zelensky is invited to Alaska, it’s unclear whether the warring leaders would share the same room, an insider told NBC.
Trump announced Friday plans to meet with the Kremlin as he seeks a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The meeting would be the first US-Russian bilateral summit since former President Joe Biden met Putin at Geneve, Switzerland in June 2021.
It also marks the first in-person encounter between Trump and the Russian ruler since 2019, when the duo met on the sidelines of the G-210 summit in Osaka, Japan.
“It would have been sooner, but I guess there’s security arrangements that unfortunately people have to make,” Trump told reporters at the White House Friday, acknowledging a potential proposal will include “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” war-torn nations.
“Otherwise I’d do it much quicker, He would, too. He’d like to meet as soon as possible, I agree with it.”
The president had suggested a day earlier he’d be willing to meet Putin face-to-face before involving Zelensky in talks, contradicting earlier statements from White House officials to The Post.
But the White House confirmed no such plans have been made.
“The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders,” the White House said in a statement to the outlet.
“Right now, the White House is focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin.”
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.