Foreign pool report #1 Background

Good morning,

I am your foreign pooler for President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House today. A number of European leaders will join him : European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

Secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte, will also be participating in the meeting.

The gathering of so many European leaders at the White House on the same day, and with such limited notice, appears to be without precedent in recent times.

President Trump posted about the meeting this morning on Truth social https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115049921290485283

President Zelenskyy’s previous visits to the White House:

September 1, 2021

December 21, 2022

September 21 or 22, 2023

December 11-12, 2023

February 28, 2025

Schedule:

European leaders are scheduled to arrive at the White House South Portico at 12pm. They will participate in a lunch at the White House.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian President is scheduled to arrive at the White House at 1pm. President Donald Trump will participate in a Bilateral Meeting with President Zelensky at 1.15pm.

At 2.15pm, President Trump greets European leaders in the State Dining room.

At 2.30pm President Trump will participate in a family photo with European leaders.

At 3pm President Trump will participate in a Multilateral meeting with European leaders in the East room.

French President Emmanuel Macron will be accompanied by Emmanuel Bonne, his diplomatic advisor.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb will be accompanied by his chief of staff, Lauri Tierala.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be accompanied by his NSA Jonathan Powell.

A meeting started at 10am at the Ukrainian embassy with President Zelensky.

I could confirm at 10.30 am the presence of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

Other leaders will join this meeting later. It should last until 12pm.

It is expected that some of the European leaders will make a statement after the meeting with President Trump.

German Chancellor Merz already confirmed that he will speak to the press. No locations confirmed yet.

Agenda:

The talks will focus on how to end the war with Russia. It follows President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15.

President Trump told Fox News after the summit that he and Putin agreed on most but not all issues, and said “It’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done."

President Zelensky and European leaders are keen to learn more about what the two leaders discussed in Alaska.

Peace efforts and Security guarantees for Ukraine will be at the heart of the discussions.

President Trump said he spoke to Putin about the possibility of a NATO-style collective defense guarantee for Ukraine.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Putin had agreed on Friday to "robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing".

Steve Witkoff also said Moscow had made "some concessions" regarding five Ukrainian regions that Russia fully or partially controls. During the summit, it is widely reported that Putin has demanded Ukraine withdraw from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a condition for ending Russia’s war. Special envoy Witkoff said that "there is an important discussion with regard to Donetsk” "That discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday”.

On Truth social Sunday night, President Trump said reclaiming Crimea or entering NATO were off the table for Ukraine : https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115047128460078066

President Trump told President Zelensky and NATO leaders during a call on Saturday, August 16, that President Putin doesn't want a ceasefire and prefers a comprehensive agreement to end the war.

On Sunday night, after his arrival in Washington DC, President Zelensky said: "We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably."

https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1957271398902039032

A virtual summit was held on Sunday between Zelensky and the so-called coalition of the willing - a group of nations including the UK, France and Germany that have pledged to protect peace in Ukraine once it is achieved.

Afterwards, President Emmanuel Macron told reporters their plan was to "present a united front" for Monday's talks with President Trump.

He said “If we show weakness today in front of Russia, we are laying the ground for future conflicts”

During this summit, President Zelensky stressed that the Ukrainian constitution makes it impossible to give up territory "The constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible to give up territory or trade land”.

At a news conference on Sunday in Brussels with President Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “we welcome President Trump’s willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. And the ‘coalition of the willing’ — including the European Union — is ready to do its share.” She also urged talks among the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and the United States “as soon as possible”.

US Assistance to Ukraine:

According to the Special Inspector General’s report to Congress (Jan 1 2025-March 31 2025) since February 2022, Congress has appropriated or otherwise made available $184.81 billion for OAR (Operation Atlantic Resolve) and the broader Ukraine response, of which $34.26 billion remained available for obligation.

During an interview with Associated Press on Feb 2 2025, President Zelensky stated that of the approximately US$177 billion in aid approved by the US for Ukraine, the country has received about US$76 billion.

Background on President Zelensky :

Volodymyr Zelenskyy was born in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine on January 25, 1978. He grew up as a native Russian speaker, but he is also fluent in Ukrainian and English. Zelenskyy received a law degree from Kyiv National Economic University but decided to pursue a career as an actor, comedian, script writer and producer. In 2015, he played a schoolteacher who was elected president in a popular television series called Servant of the People. In 2019, he won the presidential election in Ukraine, unseating Petro Poroshenko.

During his presidential campaign, Zelenskyy promised to end Ukraine’s protracted conflict with Russia. He attempted to engage in dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. An escalation of tension since 2021 culminated in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In July 2025, President Zelensky says he has submitted a draft law to reinstate the freedom of two anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine, days after nationwide protests broke out over changes curbing their independence.

According to a recent survey , 52% of Ukrainians have a strong (30%) or somewhat (22%) favorable opinion of Zelensky while 31% had an unfavorable one.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska have two children – daughter Oleksandra and son Kyrylo.

Background on President Macron :

President Macron is 47 years old.

He was first elected in May 2017, becoming at 39, the youngest ever French President. He has been a member of Renaissance since he founded it in 2016 (originally known as En Marche!). He was reelected to a 2nd term in the 2022 Presidential election.

Although he had been a member of the Socialist Party earlier in life and served under a Socialist President, he ran on a centrist, pro-European movement (En Marche), which he founded a year prior to the Presidential election.

After a shattering defeat in May’s 2024 European Parliament election, his decision to call a snap election has backfired.

the New Popular Front (NFP), a cluster of left-wing parties, won 182 seats in the National Assembly, short of a majority but ahead of both Macron’s centrist bloc and the far right.

In recent years, his support has shifted to the right and he has been criticized from voters on the left. He has been nicknamed “President of the Rich”.

Macron studied at the Jesuit Institute Lycée (high school) la Providence in Amiens before he went to the elite lycée in Paris”Henri-IV).

He is married to Brigitte Macron, his former teacher at La Providence lycée. She is 25 years his senior. They met during a theatre workshop she was giving when he was 15 and she was 39.

Macron’s parents attempted to separate them by sending him away to Paris to finish the final year of his Lycée (high school)

Macron wrote in his autobiography that his grandparents were a teacher, a railway worker, a social worker and a road engineer.

People close to him often says that his maternal grandmother, Manette, the teacher, was one of the important person to him. They were very closed and she introduced him to literature and culture.

Background on Chancellor Merz:

Friedrich Merz, 69, a conservative, became postwar Germany’s 10th Chancellor on May 6. He is a commercial lawyer from a rural region in western Germany and a long-time advocate of conservative values and family. He met his wife Charlotte (now a judge) while studying law. They have three grown children. A licensed pilot, he is openly passionate about his hobby and sometimes would fly his own small plane from his home in the Sauerland region to Berlin.

A member of the center-right CDU (Christian Democratic Union), Merz served in the European Parliament (1989–1994) and the German Parliament, the Bundestag (1994–2009), where he rose to lead the CDU parliamentary group before losing out to Angela Merkel for party leadership. He was more traditionally conservative than she. Over these years he took a particular interest in Germany’s relationship with the United States.

In 2009, Merz chose not to stand for parliament again and went on to pursue a career in business instead. He was e.g. chair of the Atlantic-Brücke from 2009 to 2019, a circle of influence promoting German-American relations.

From 2016 to 2020, he was chairman of the supervisory board of the German arm of the American investment company BlackRock, and during this time he often traveled for business to the United States and China. Volker Resing, who wrote the recent biography “Friedrich Merz: His Path to Power”, says that Merz would possibly be “the most international chancellor” Germany has had since 1945.

He re-entered politics in 2021 and won the 2025 election on promises to boost the economy, support Ukraine, and curb irregular migration. In May, he issued an order to reject undocumented migrants, including asylum seekers, at Germany’s borders. That marks a big shift since Germany’s “Refugees Welcome” culture during Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015 under Angela Merkel.

On May 6, he became Chancellor after a bumpy start. He needed an unprecedented second vote in the Bundestag to secure the necessary majority. Now Merz’s conservative CDU governs Germany in coalition with its sister party, the regional Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).

Background on Prime Minister Meloni:

Conservative Giorgia Meloni serves as Italy's Prime Minister since October 2022. After 3 years in Office her governing coalition made of Forza Italia, Lega and her party Fratelli d'Italia remains strong and Meloni holds a high approval rating among Italians. Meloni has put Foreign Policy front and Center on her Agenda and is often criticized for her travels abroad to engage in political alliances. Meloni is a critic of the EU for its open immigration policy and its constricting fiscal rules yet she supports Ursula Von der Leyen who stands with Meloni on several issues starting with supporting Ukraine. The two have a very strong relationship although her party did not vote for Von der Leyen reelection as European Commissioner. Meloni is also a longstanding supporter of President Trump. This is her second visit to the White House since Trump's second term.

Giorgia Meloni has firmly supported Ukraine, siding with President Biden in his defence against Russia’s invasion and has taken a clear pro-Western position by strongly condemning Russia’s aggression and supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty. She recently suggested to extend NATO's article 5 to Ukraine a stand she pushed with President Trump in Kananaskis at the G7 in Canada. In July she hosted the Fourth Ukrainian recovery conference in Rome

Background on Prime minister Starmer:

Sir Keir Starmer, 62, was educated at Oxford University before practicing law as a barrister specialising in human rights issues. His political career began when he was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions in 2008, where he earned recognition for his reforms and commitment to justice. He stepped down from the role in November 2013 and a year later, was given a knighthood for ‘services to law and criminal justice’.

Shortly after, in 2015, Starmer was elected as the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras. He quickly rose through the ranks of the then-opposition government, becoming Shadow Brexit Secretary in 2016. He would become leader of the Labour Party in 2020, eventually becoming Prime Minister in 2024 after a landslide election result for the Labour Party - ending the Conservative party’s 14 years in power.

Background on President Stubb

President of Finland, Alexander Stubb travels to Washington as one of the world leaders that has spent most time together with President Trump. Stubb made a surprise trip to Mar-a-Lago late in March and spent most of a Saturday golfing with his U.S. counterpart, forming a relationship that catapulted him into the orbit of European leaders President Trump frequently speaks to on all matters Ukraine-Russia.

Yesterday, Stubb in a post on X, reiterated that "Europe and the United States are further strengthening their common position" and that "there is a strong consensus among the Coalition countries on the need to continue supporting Ukraine".

Stubb has served as President since March last year and represents the center-right National Coalition's Party in Finland. His career in politics started in the European Union where he was a civil servant and later a parliamentarian. He has since served as Prime Minister as well as Finance Minister in Finland.

Background on Ursula von der Leyen :

Ursula von der Leyen has been President of the European Commission since December 1, 2019, becoming the first woman to hold the office.

Von der Leyen was included in Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and again in 2022, and was named the most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2022.

Prior to her role as the President of the EC, she served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding successive positions in Angela’s Merkel cabinet, most recently as minister of defense. She is a member of the center right CDU in Germany and its EU counterpart, the European People’s Party (EPP).

She was born and raised in Brussels, to German parents. She was brought up bilingually in German and French. She studied at the London School of Economics in the late 1970s and lived under the name Rose Ladson, the family name of her American great-grandmother from Charleston, South Carolina. As a mother of seven children, she was a housewife during parts of the 1990s and lived for four years in Standford, California, while her husband was on the faculty at Standford University, returning to Germany in 1996.

Thank you very much to my colleagues from the WHFPG for helping with the bio of their country’s leaders.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

--

Sonia Dridi

Correspondante RTBF TV à Washington DC

Washington DC RTBF TV Correspondent

+ 1 XXX-XXX-XXXX

twitter: @Sonia_Dridi