European leaders want Ukraine's defense, Trump responds that he is seeking peace

The virtual meeting between several European leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelensky (who was in Berlin with Chancellor Friedrich Merz), served as an opportunity for several of these leaders to draw attention to the fact that they consider Russian President Vladimir Putin to be "untrustworthy," thus repeating rhetoric that the Ukrainian leader has used in recent days.

Donald Trump apparently didn't comment on these opinions, but he was nonetheless courteous to his listeners: "These are great people who want to see a deal reached," news agencies report.

Zelensky said he warned his US counterpart and European allies that "Putin is bluffing" and that the sanctions are working. "I told Trump and all our European partners that Putin is bluffing, he's bluffing, saying that the sanctions don't work, that they're nothing. In fact, the sanctions are hitting the Russian economy hard," he said, adding that the Russian president hasn't changed his ultimate goal: "he wants to occupy all of Ukraine." Zelensky said he expects an immediate ceasefire to be the central theme of the upcoming Alaska meeting. "The US president has spoken about this repeatedly. He suggested that after the Alaska meeting, we would get in touch to discuss all the results, if any, and determine our next steps."

Since Donald Trump confirmed his meeting with Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska, Zelensky has been trying to enlist the support of Ukraine's partners to convince the US president not to violate one of Kyiv's most fundamental principles: "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine." Zelensky stated that there have been "more than thirty conversations and consultations with partners" from around the world. "This war needs to end. Pressure must be exerted on Russia for a just peace. The experience of Ukraine and our partners must be used to avoid deception by Russia."

For his part, Trump described his meeting with Putin as a way to "prepare the ground" for a possible meeting between Zelensky and Putin. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Trump made it "very clear" that his main objective is to secure a ceasefire during his meeting with the Russian president. "We support this initiative," he said. Trump also told the European leaders attending the meeting that he agrees that territorial issues concerning Ukraine cannot and will not be negotiated without Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Macron. The French president also added that another conclusion from Trump's comments is that the United States is willing to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement. The French president said that any meeting between Trump, Putin, and Zelensky should be held in Europe. "We hope it can be held in Europe, in a neutral country, which is acceptable to all parties," he said.

Macron attempted to downplay Europe's absence from Friday's summit as evidence of the 27's weakness in the global geopolitical landscape, stating that it is "natural for the United States of America to meet with Russia. It's a positive thing to do to ease tensions. They also have many bilateral issues to discuss." "What's good, and where Europe is respected, is that there is coordination on issues that concern it," he added.

NATO chief Mark Rutte described the connection between European leaders and Trump as “excellent” and said: “The ball is now in Putin’s court.”

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, who participated in the call with Donald Trump, described the meeting as "very good." "Today, Europe, the United States, and NATO strengthened the common ground on Ukraine," she wrote, adding that Washington and European capitals "will remain in close coordination."

For his part, the President of the European Council, António Costa, who participated in the call alongside Emmanuel Macron, said that "I would like to express my best wishes for the great success of Friday's meeting between President Putin and President Trump, to reach a ceasefire and pave the way for peace in Ukraine."

Even before the meetings, the Kremlin described the virtual meeting between Zelenskyy, European leaders, and Trump as "insignificant" and accused the EU of "sabotaging" Moscow's diplomatic efforts. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexey Fadeev even accused the EU of "sabotaging" what Moscow calls "diplomatic efforts by Russia and the United States to resolve the crisis in Ukraine."

"We consider the consultations requested by the Europeans to be politically and practically meaningless actions," said the Foreign Ministry spokesman. Fadeev also confirmed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the Alaska summit on Friday.