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US President Donald Trump is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday (local time) for separate meetings expected to focus on the wars in Ukraine and West Asia, CNN reported, citing a White House official.
Trump's meeting with Netanyahu will centre on the war involving Iran, progress in negotiations with Lebanon and efforts to expand the Abraham Accords. Speaking to reporters on Monday (local time), Trump acknowledged that he and Netanyahu were not in complete agreement on Iran but stressed that they remained closely aligned. "We have a little difference, but pretty close," Trump said. Trump's meeting with Zelensky is expected to focus on the ongoing peace process between Russia and Ukraine. A White House official told CNN that "now is the time to end the war." Earlier on Monday (local time), Trump dismissed Zelensky's allegation that Russia was providing Iran with intelligence on US military bases, saying, "I don't think they've been doing it, certainly not at a high level." CNN also reported that both Netanyahu and Zelensky are expected to attend the funeral of late Senator Lindsey Graham in Washington on Tuesday (local time) following their White House meetings. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington on Monday (local time) for high-level talks with US President Donald Trump, placing regional security and the confrontation with Iran at the top of the bilateral agenda. Before taking off, Netanyahu emphasised that addressing threats from Tehran would be his primary objective during his discussions with the American president. "We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost, Iran," Netanyahu said in remarks shared on X. "Naturally, our goal is to safeguard our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us. I am embarking on this mission with one clear goal - to ensure the security, strength, and future of our dear State of Israel." The trip marks the eighth face-to-face bilateral meeting between the two leaders since Trump took office for his second term, underscoring the close coordination between Washington and Jerusalem. Separately, before his meeting with Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump said that Russia's support to Iran, if any, in the ongoing war against Washington has been "very unimpactful," adding that he will ask his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin regarding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent allegations. Zelenskyy on Saturday accused Moscow of providing satellite intelligence to Iran to facilitate strikes on US military outposts and Gulf state facilities, while also revealing that Moscow is preparing to receive 30,000 North Korean troops to bolster its forces. Speaking with the reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump reiterated that the US has "knocked the hell out of Iran" to assert Washington's dominance in the conflict, and claimed that the Islamic Republic is losing despite Russia's aid, if any. "We'll find out if that's true. I'll ask Putin about it. We'll find out," Trump said. (ANI)
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