King Charles has offered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an olive branch after the monarch announced a meeting at his country retreat.
The King is set to welcome Zelensky to Sandringham on Sunday, just days after the Ukrainian premier's public spat with US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance in the White House.
A Palace insider told The Sun: “Zelensky was always due to be in the UK this weekend and so a meeting with the King was pencilled in".
As fears of a deepening trans-Atlantic rift grow between the US and Europe following the unprecedented scenes in the Oval Office, King Charles will hold talks with Zelensky, the outlet reported.
Zelensky has since offered his thanks to King Charles for agreeing to meet on Sunday, as he spoke with the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a visit to Downing Street on Saturday.
Zelensky told the PM: “I’m very happy that His Majesty the King accepted my meeting tomorrow."
King Charles has previously given his full backing to Ukraine, calling Russia's invasion "indescribable aggression" and an "unprovoked attack on their land."
Ukraine had walked into a meeting at the White House on Friday prepared to sign a mineral deal with the US, hoping it would be a step towards a just ceasefire, but left empty-handed.
During the heated exchange in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War Three”. The exchange also saw the frustrated Ukrainian president lectured by Trump and his Vice President JD Vance over what they saw as Zelensky's lack of gratitude for previous US support.
The shouting match that unfolded in the final minutes of the meeting between the two leaders at the Oval Office on Friday seemed to dash, at least for now, Ukrainian hopes that the US could be confirmed as a reliable partner in helping to fend off, and conclude, Russia’s three-year onslaught.
It delighted officials in Moscow who saw it as a final breakdown in relations between Washington and the Ukrainian leader.
In a series of posts on X on Saturday, the Ukrainian president said his people are “very grateful to the United States for all the support”, and specifically thanked Mr Trump and Congress alongside the “American people”.
Several European leaders rallied behind Zelensky following the clash, reiterating their commitment to stand with Kyiv.
Among them were the leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands who shared posts on social media messages in support of Kyiv, as per BBC News.
The Ukrainian leader responded each one, thanking them for their backing of his country's war effort.
Starmer met with Zelensky today, offering the Ukrainian leader a warm embrace in front of the cameras and reaffirming the UK's backing of Ukraine.
On Sunday, the PM will host a defence summit for European leaders addressing the war in Ukraine.
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