Canada is a member of NATO – that Putin and Trump hate – along with the Democrats! Do you see the Russian-American Alliance – now?
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Carney welcomes European leaders joining Ukraine’s Zelenskyy for Trump meeting
By Staff The Associated Press
Posted August 17, 2025 11:12 am
Updated August 18, 2025 9:35 am
5 min read
Global National: Ukraine must be involved in peace deal, EU leaders warnclose video
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European and NATO leaders announced Sunday they will join President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, with the possibility of U.S. security guarantees now on the negotiating table.
In a statement from Ottawa, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney immediately welcomed the move and revealed he had his own virtual meeting with Zelenskyy on Sunday.
“This approach is consistent with the principles of no decisions about Ukraine being taken without Ukraine and no decisions about Europe being taken without Europe, and the promotion of the long-term security of Ukraine, Europe, and the Euro-Atlantic community,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated.
“Experience has shown that Russian President Putin cannot be trusted,” Carney’s office added, saying that current diplomatic engagement must be reinforced “by continued military and economic pressure on Russia to end its aggression.”
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Carney’s statements came as the leaders from Canada, France, Britain and Germany are rallying around the Ukrainian leader after his exclusion from Trump’s summit on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Their pledge to be at Zelenskyy’s side at the White House on Monday is an apparent effort to ensure the meeting goes better than the last one in February, when Trump berated Zelenskyy in a heated Oval Office encounter.
“The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr. Zelenskyy to the hilt,” said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France’s military mission at the United Nations.More on WorldMore videos
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“It’s a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump,” he said.
Prime Minister Carney also pledged to intensify Canadian support for Ukraine, which was already boosted with $2 billion in new military support, a $2.3 billion loan through the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans mechanism, and recent sanctions against Russia and “its enablers.”
Carney’s statement also included a renewed joint call for Russia “to immediately and unconditionally return Ukrainian children who have been unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred from Ukraine.”
Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Putin agreed at the meeting in Alaska with Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defence mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Zelenskyy, 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.”
Von der Leyen was joined Sunday by French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in saying they will take part in Monday’s talks at the White House, as will secretary-general of the NATO military alliance, Mark Rutte.
The European leaders’ demonstration of support could help ease concerns in Kyiv and in other European capitals that Ukraine risks being railroaded into a peace deal that Trump says he wants to broker with Russia.
Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said European leaders are trying to “shape this fast-evolving agenda.” After the Alaska summit, the idea of a ceasefire appears all but abandoned, with the narrative shifting toward Putin’s agenda of ensuring Ukraine does not join NATO or even the EU.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that a possible ceasefire is “not off the table” but that the best way to end the war would be through a “full peace deal.”
Putin has implied that he sees Europe as a hindrance to negotiations. He has also resisted meeting Zelenskyy in person, saying that such a meeting can only take place once the groundwork for a peace deal has been laid.
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Speaking to the press after his meeting with Trump, the Russian leader raised the idea that Kyiv and other European capitals could “create obstacles” to derail potential progress with “behind-the-scenes intrigue.”
For now, Zelenskyy offers the Europeans the “only way” to get into the discussions about the future of Ukraine and European security, says RUSI’s Melvin.
However, the sheer number of European leaders potentially in attendance means the group will have to be “mindful” not to give “contradictory” messages, Melvin said.
“The risk is they look heavy-handed and are ganging up on Trump,” he added. “Trump won’t want to be put in a corner.”
Although details remain hazy on what Article 5-like security guarantees from the U.S. and Europe would entail for Ukraine, it could mirror NATO membership terms, in which an attack on one member of the alliance is seen as an attack on all.
In remarks made on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Witkoff said Friday’s meeting with Trump was the first time Putin had been heard to agree to such an arrangement.
Zelenskyy continues to stress the importance of both U.S. and European involvement in any negotiations.
“A security guarantee is a strong army. Only Ukraine can provide that. Only Europe can finance this army, and weapons for this army can be provided by our domestic production and European production. But there are certain things that are in short supply and are only available in the United States,” he said at the press conference Sunday alongside Von der Leyen.
Does Trump Still Plan to Annex Canada and Make It the 51st State? Here’s What to Know
by
Reporter
It’s long been a point of contention, but that hasn’t stopped President Donald Trump from frequently—and publicly—expressing his desire to annex Canada and have it become the 51st U.S. state. The idea has been firmly shut down by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his successor, Mark Carney. The latter of which has plainly said: “It will never happen.” But where do things currently stand in the Canada annexation row?
Speaking to Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures on Friday, for an interview of which the first part aired on Sunday morning, Trump once again revisited his eagerness to annex the U.S.’ neighbouring country.
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“Frankly, Canada should be the 51st state, they really should. Because Canada relies entirely on the United States, we don’t rely on Canada,” Trump said, when discussing the breakdown in negotiations between the two countries over trade.
Trump’s comments come just days after Carney expressed his belief that the U.S. President was no longer interested in the topic. At the NATO Summit in the Netherlands on Tuesday, Carney was asked whether Trump is still saying he wants to annex Canada, to which the Canadian Prime Minister replied: “He’s not.”
“He admires Canada, I think it’s fair to say, and maybe for a period of time coveted Canada. We’re two sovereign nations discussing the future of our trade relationships, our defense partnership,” Carney told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “The President is focused on a series of changing bilateral relations… Making sure all members of NATO, Canada included, pay their fair share.”
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Both Trump and Carney were notable presences at the 2025 NATO Summit, during which a 5% GDP defense budget target became a key focus point for global leaders across the board.
Read More: Trump Shares the Founders’ Delusions on Canada
In May, Trump offered Canada protection under his proposed Golden Dome missile defense system. “It will cost zero dollars if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer!” he claimed on Truth Social, adding that it would cost Canada $61 billion dollars otherwise, should they want to be part of the Golden Dome but maintain their sovereignty.
Canada was quick to shut down any notion that it was considering the bargain. “The Prime Minister has been clear at every opportunity, including in his conversations with President Trump, that Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and it will remain one,” the Canadian Prime Minister’s office said in a statement to the press.
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Trump has long argued that Canada should become the 51st state, saying that the incorporation of the United States’ northern neighbour would be beneficial to Canadians, an argument he doubled down on amid heightened tensions over his tariffs, which Trudeau—who Trump famously goaded by calling “Governor Trudeau”—and Carney have expressed deep concern over.
Amid the tariff debates in March, Trump again attempted to use the annexing notion as a bargaining chip. “The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished 51st State. This would make all tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear,” he suggested.
“The biggest risk we have to this economy is Donald Trump… he’s trying to break us so he can own us,” Carney fired back during his election campaign. ”We’re all going to stand up against Donald Trump. I’m ready.”
The ongoing back-and-forth has been further complicated by the fact that some separatists in the Canadian province of Alberta see Trump as an ally, and have even started a “Make Alberta Great Again” campaign.
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During his April 22 interview with TIME, Trump denied that he was “trolling” when talking about his desire to annex Canada.
“We’re taking care of their military. We’re taking care of every aspect of their lives… We don’t need anything from Canada. And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state,” he said.
Read More: Secretary of State Marco Rubio Speaks Out on Trump’s Plans to Annex the Country
When Trump and Carney sat down for a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on May 6, the issue was once again dredged up, with Trump brazenly saying in front of the Canadian Prime Minister that an annexation would “really be a wonderful marriage.” To which a clearly uncomfortable Carney replied by reiterating that Canada “is not for sale.” Trump’s response? “Never say never.”
Despite Carney’s hopeful comments at NATO, Trump’s public return to his rhetoric about potentially annexing Canada is not all that surprising.
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In May, Trump vowed to “always” talk about his keenness to annex the neighbouring country.
“I’ll always talk about that. You know why? We subsidize Canada to the tune of $200 billion a year,” he claimed. “If Canada was a state it wouldn’t cost us. It would be great. It would be such a great—it would be a cherished state… What a beautiful country it would be.”
Rosamond Press 
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