EU Parliament Planning for Possible Zelenksy Visit in Days

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s legislature was preparing plans Monday to host Volodymyr Zelensky should the Ukraine president decide to come to Brussels to attend an EU summit later this week.

Two sources in the parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said such plans are only meant to prepare the legislature to host Zelensky if security conditions permit him to attend Thursday’s meeting.

“When he would come, we would be ready,” said one of the sources, stressing that because of security concerns any decision could only come at the last moment.

EU leaders from 27-nation bloc will be gathering for Thursday’s summit in Brussels, enabling Zelensky to meet all major leaders of the bloc in one day. Zelensky has often addressed EU summits only through video calls from Ukraine.

Zelensky has long had an open invitation to come to Brussels if he chose to.

It remains unclear whether Zelensky would be able to travel as Russian forces are keeping Ukrainian troops tied down with attacks in the eastern Donbas region amid concern that of a new Russian offensive could be in the offing.

EU Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv last Friday where they told Zelensky he had the bloc’s unrelenting support in Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

The only trip outside Ukraine that Zelensky has made was a visit to Washington in December to seek further aid for the war and to thank Ukraine’s major financial and military back for its support.