Trump, Zelensky hold bilateral meeting at White House

U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a bilateral meeting at the White House on Monday local time.

Ahead of the closed-door meeting with Zelensky, Trump told reporters that he believes President Vladimir Putin wants the Russia-Ukraine conflict to end and that he will work with Ukraine and all parties to make sure peace stays.

Trump said progress is being made in resolving the Ukraine crisis and there will be security guarantees that Ukraine asks for.

Trump also said he plans to call Putin following his talks at the White House, adding that if everything goes well, there will be a trilateral meeting among the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine.

Speaking to the press alongside Trump, Zelensky said he supports the idea of ending the conflict in a diplomatic way and that he is ready for a trilateral meeting.

European leaders -- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron -- also arrived at the White House earlier on Monday.

They took part in a multilateral meeting with Trump and Zelensky on Monday afternoon.

Trump, Zelensky hold bilateral meeting at White House

Trump, Zelensky hold bilateral meeting at White House

Trump, Zelensky hold bilateral meeting at White House

Trump, Zelensky hold bilateral meeting at White House

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar