European leaders joining Zelensky at the White House should help avoid another diplomatic debacle

analysis

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, shake hands in Brussels, Belgium, ahead of a meeting of European leaders, on Aug. 17.

The last visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House ended memorably badly in February, when he was subjected to an extraordinary verbal putdown by U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance. There have since been reconciliatory meetings between the Ukrainian and U.S. leaders – at the funeral of Pope Francis and later the annual NATO summit.

But perhaps the chief role of the half dozen European leaders set to accompany Mr. Zelensky to his encounter with Mr. Trump in Washington on Monday is to ensure that there isn’t any kind of repeat diplomatic d