European and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders on Sunday announced they will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington for talks with Donald Trump on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, with the possibility of US-backed security guarantees now part of the discussions, news agency AP reported.

European heavyweights including France, Britain and Germany are rallying around Zelenskyy after his exclusion from US President Trump’s summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. Their commitment to accompany Zelenskyy to the White House on Monday appears aimed at preventing a repeat of the tense Oval Office encounter in February, when Trump berated the Ukrainian leader.

“The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr Zelenskyy to the hilt,” said retired French General Dominique Trinquand, former head of France’s military mission at the United Nations, adding, “It’s a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump.”