President Volodymyr Zelensky may meet U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Dec. 7 during his visit to Paris to mark the Notre-Dame Cathedral's reopening, AFP reported, citing an unnamed senior Ukrainian official.
About 50 heads of state and government will attend the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral, which has been under reconstruction since 2019 after a fire. Trump's trip to Paris will be his first foreign visit since winning the U.S. presidential election.
"The Ukrainian president will attend celebrations to mark the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral. He will meet with President (Emmanuel) Macron. Other meetings are also possible, including with President-elect Donald Trump, who will also attend the event," the source told AFP.
Zelensky and Trump previously met on Sept. 27 in New York, when the Ukrainian president presented his victory plan to his counterpart. Two of the ideas in the victory plan were explicitly prepared for Trump, according to the Financial Times (FT).
Prior to that, the leaders held a phone call on Nov. 7 after the then-Republican candidate won the presidential election. Zelensky congratulated Trump on his victory during the call.
On Dec. 4, the Ukrainian delegation, led by Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak, also met aides to Trump in Washington.
While Trump has pledged to get the U.S. "out" of Russia's war and negotiate a quick peace deal, Ukrainian officials have urged the president-elect to maintain support and adopt a "peace through strength" approach in dealings with Russia.
Daria Shulzhenko
