Ukraine’s European allies held a series of talks on Wednesday aimed at coordinating the US position on the Ukrainian crisis ahead of the summit between the US and Russian presidents in Alaska. This day of Euro-Atlantic diplomacy was the last chance to reconcile two alternative approaches to the issues of war and peace in Ukraine, held by Donald Trump on the one hand and the group supporting Kyiv on the other.
Merz as the initiator of the European meeting
The initiator of the latest attempt by Kyiv’s European allies to influence Donald Trump’s position two days before his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska was German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Approaching the issue of a decisive diplomatic offensive with German thoroughness, Chancellor Merz invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Berlin for consultations, who President Trump, on the contrary, did not wish to see in Alaska. Chancellor Merz, who is claiming the role of Europe’s new informal leader, divided the negotiations themselves into several stages with different participants.
At 2 p.m., a video conference of European leaders began, attended by Friedrich Merz, who had interrupted his holiday, as well as the leaders of France, the UK, Italy, Poland, Finland, as well as European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Zelensky.
Having agreed on a common position, the participants in the video conference discussed their findings with President Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.
The next, third stage was an online meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing, which is coordinating military and financial support for Ukraine.
The European diplomatic assault on Washington’s positions, which was launched by the leaders of the the EU and NATO did not initially promise quick success, as warned by POLITICO, which spoke with an unnamed European official.
“Everyone feels something between anxiety and indignation,” the source told the publication, referring to Trump’s latest statements on Monday about the need for a “land swap,” which caused a nervous reaction in the European camp and “new confusion about the US president’s position.”
Trump about EU: “Will be speaking to European Leaders in a short while”
While the Europeans were preparing their final arguments to win Trump over to their side, the White House chief spoke about them in a condescending tone before the meeting, which even sounded slightly mocking. “Will be speaking to European Leaders in a short while. They are wonderful people who want to make a deal,” Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social, making it clear that he did not take the arguments of his European partners seriously.
However, the statements made by European leaders following their talks with President Trump still allowed them to create the appearance of unity within the Euro-Atlantic camp and avoid a tough standoff with Washington.
At the same time, Ukraine’s support group once again emphasised its earlier demand for an immediate ceasefire, expressing hope that this is what Donald Trump will seek from Vladimir Putin in Alaska. As for the issue of territorial concessions, it was only touched upon in the statements of Western leaders, while Volodymyr Zelensky did not confirm his readiness for such an exchange, again referring to the Ukrainian constitution.
“Today, US President Donald Trump, European leaders and Volodymyr Zelensky had a very good conversation. We agreed to maintain coordination,” Ursula von der Leyen wrote on her Telegram channel, expressing her conviction that the video conference had “strengthened the common understanding” of the situation in Ukraine.
“The starting point must be a ceasefire”
Chancellor Merz made a detailed statement at a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky, wishing President Trump good luck at the meeting in Alaska. “We have clearly identified several points for negotiation. We have made it clear that Ukraine must be at the negotiating table as soon as the follow-up meetings take place. We want the negotiations to be conducted in the right order. The starting point must be a ceasefire. Then the key elements must be agreed in a framework agreement. Finally, thirdly, Ukraine is ready for negotiations on territorial issues. However, the starting point must be the so-called line of contact,” the German Chancellor emphasised.
At the same time, according to him, legal recognition of the territories “is not up for discussion.” “The principle of the inadmissibility of changing borders by force must be preserved,” Merz noted.
Another participant in the press conference, Zelensky, called the ceasefire the main point of the talks between Presidents Trump and Putin. As for territorial issues, he called them “very complex” and reiterated his earlier statement that the Ukrainian constitution does not allow its territorial integrity to be violated.
Two other architects of the European “coalition of the willing” — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron — unlike Chancellor Merz, do not consider it appropriate to discuss the territorial issue in Alaska at all.
“Prime Minister Starmer has made it clear that our support for Ukraine is unwavering. International borders must not be changed by force, and Ukraine must have strong and credible security guarantees to protect its territorial integrity, as part of any deal,” the British Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.
“The main goal of the US president at the meeting with the Russian president in Alaska is to ask for a ceasefire,” Macron said. He also reiterated the well-known European position that territorial issues should only be discussed with the participation of Ukraine, which will not be represented in Alaska.
According to Macron, further consideration of new sanctions against Russia will depend on the outcome of the upcoming talks on the Ukrainian conflict.
“We have adopted a new package of sanctions. We are preparing another one. And I think it will depend on the talks in the coming days and weeks. But nothing can be ruled out,” Macron explained.
Trump’s threats
In turn, assessing the negotiations with European allies, President Trump remained true to the principle of uncertainty, which, apparently, remains the basis of his negotiating strategy. “We had a very good conversation… President Zelensky took part in the conversation. I would rate it (the conversation) a ten, you know, very friendly,” Trump said.
According to him, his first meeting with Vladimir Putin after returning to the White House could be his last if the summit in Alaska fails.
“There may not be a second meeting because if I decide that it is not worthwhile, since I did not get the answers we need, then there simply will not be a second meeting,” Trump told reporters. In addition, he threatened that if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire on Friday, “there will be very serious consequences.”
