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15-08-2025
PARIS/ BERLIN: European leaders appeared cautiously optimistic after holding a virtual meeting with Donald Trump on Wednesday, two days before he meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump reportedly told the Europeans that his goal for the summit was to obtain a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv.
He also agreed that any territorial issues had to be decided with Volodymyr Zelensky’s involvement, and that security guarantees had to be part of the deal, according to France’s Emmanuel Macron.
Speaking to Trump had allowed him to “clarify his intentions” and gave the Europeans a chance to “express our expectations,” Macron said.
Trump and Vice-President JD Vance spoke to the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland as well as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Nato chief Mark Rutte.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will meet with Zelensky in London on Thursday morning.
Their talks will take place at No 10 Downing Street, just 24 hours before the summit between Trump and Putin.
The Europeans have been sidelined from the hastily organized summit in Alaska and their phone call on Wednesday was a last-ditch attempt to keep Ukraine’s interests and the continent’s security at the forefront of Trump’s mind.
To an extent, it seemed to work. On Wednesday evening Trump rated the meeting “a 10” and said Russia would face “very severe” consequences unless it halted its war in Ukraine.
He also said that if Friday’s meeting went well he would try to organise a “quick second one” involving both Putin and Zelensky.
Still, in their statements European leaders restated the need for Kyiv to be involved in any final decision, betraying an underlying nervousness that Putin could ultimately persuade Trump to concede Ukrainian land in exchange for a ceasefire.
“It’s most important thing that Europe convinces Donald Trump that one can’t trust Russia,” said Poland’s Donald Tusk, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed the leaders had “made it clear that Ukraine must be at the table as soon as follow-up meetings take place”.
If the Russian side refused to make any concessions, “then the United States and we Europeans should and must increase the pressure”, Merz said.
Since the US-Russia summit was announced last week, Trump has made several references to “land-swapping” between Kyiv and Moscow, sparking serious concerns in Ukraine and beyond that he could be preparing to give in to Putin’s longstanding demand to seize large swathes of Ukrainian territory.
On Wednesday morning Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexey Fadeev reiterated that Russia’s stance had not changed since Putin set it out in June 2024.
At the time Putin said a ceasefire would start the minute the Ukrainian government withdrew from four regions partially occupied by Russia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. He also said Ukraine would need to officially give up its efforts to join the NATO military alliance.
These are maximalist demands which neither Kyiv nor its European partners see as viable.
Zelensky has said he is convinced that Russia would use any region it was allowed to keep as a springboard for future invasions.
A way to counter this threat could be security guarantees, intended as commitments to ensure Ukraine’s long-term defence. (Int’l News Desk)
