Washington/Brussels/Berlin (dpa) – Following the Ukraine summit between US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, European heads of state and government are seeking to prevent politically one-sided decisions at Kyiv’s expense. A video call of the “coalition of the willing” is planned for Sunday, according to reports. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to travel to Washington on Monday for talks with Trump.
Trump hosted Putin for a summit in Alaska on Friday. The two did not disclose specific details of their discussions afterwards. However, Trump backed away from his earlier demand that a ceasefire in Ukraine be a precondition for peace negotiations.
Following the summit, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz and several other European leaders underlined in a joint statement that effective security guarantees for Ukraine were essential for any peace settlement. The declaration by the eight European leaders also said they would work towards arranging a trilateral summit with Trump, Putin and Zelenskiy. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine. “We are determined to do more to strengthen Ukraine in order to bring an end to the fighting and achieve a just and lasting peace.” As long as the killing in Ukraine continued, they added, they were “ready to maintain pressure on Russia.”
