On August 13, two days before the planned summit between the US and Russian presidents in Alaska, US President Donald Trump held a video conference with several European leaders.
The call came after several European leaders expressed concern that the US-Russia summit could lead to a deal that would be detrimental to Ukraine without Ukraine. First, the 26 member states of the European Union issued a statement – Hungary was the only one to abstain – and then German Chancellor Friedrich Merz organized several video conferences for Wednesday, while he also hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin.
First, at 2:00 PM, the two leaders held talks with the heads of state and government of the UK, Finland, France, Poland, and Italy, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in addition to EU leaders. Then, at 3:00 PM, Donald Trump and his vice president, J. D. Vance, who was vacationing in Great Britain, joined the call.
After the video conference, French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to speak, revealing that
Donald Trump wants to reach a ceasefire with Vladimir Putin at the Alaska meeting.
Speaking to Reuters, the French president also said Trump assured them that the territorial issue related to Ukraine could not be discussed without Ukraine, which the French president also supports. Macron also said they had made it clear to Trump that security guarantees must be given to Ukraine.
Macron also spoke about the possibility of holding a summit in a neutral country in Europe in the future, which would include American President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This could be in a country that is acceptable to all three leaders – Turkey has been the most frequent meeting place for Russian and Ukrainian delegations. Macron also said that only the Ukrainian president can discuss Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Friedrich Merz: We Europeans will do everything to ensure that the meeting goes in the right direction
After the meeting with Trump, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a joint press conference in Berlin, where they discussed the meeting in more detail.
The German Chancellor first diplomatically thanked Zelensky for attending in person and said it was fitting that the video conference took place today, as the construction of the Berlin Wall began on the same day 64 years ago. According to her, the wall became a symbol of the division of Germany and Europe, but this was overcome, but Russia's invasion is dividing Europe again.
Merz then stated that the goal of European leaders is to make Friday's Trump-Putin meeting a success, and they will do everything they can to achieve this.
At the press conference, the Chancellor said that during the video conference, European leaders formulated five important principles, which he said Trump also recognized:
- Ukraine must also be given a place at the negotiating table in further negotiations.
- Any agreement must first be preceded by a ceasefire agreement – something that Macron said Trump agreed to.
- Acceptance of Russian-occupied territories cannot be on the agenda – territorial issues can only be discussed with Ukraine’s involvement.
- Ukrainian soldiers have the right to defend their sovereignty with the help of Europe.
- Future, broader negotiations must be based on a transatlantic strategy, based on support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia.
Merz said it is unacceptable for a country to change its borders by force, and that Ukraine must receive robust security guarantees to prevent Russia from attacking it again in the future.
According to Merz, he and Trump had a constructive discussion, and the US president largely agrees with the European position.
"There is hope that something will move. There is hope that there will be peace in Ukraine," Merz concluded his press conference.
Volodymyr Zelensky: I told Trump that Putin was just bluffing
After Merz, Zelensky spoke briefly before answering questions from journalists. Zelensky diplomatically thanked Merz for organizing the video conferences with his team, adding that he was grateful for the support so far. He emphasized European unity and intensive coordination with European allies.
The Ukrainian president said that all leaders who participated in today's talks want peace in Ukraine and Europe, and they agreed on the principles that Donald Trump will follow in his meeting with his Russian counterpart on Friday.
What concerns Ukraine must be discussed with Ukraine
– the Ukrainian president briefly summarized the latter, then added that Trump supports a ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine. Zelensky added that Russia should not be given veto power over Ukraine's accession to NATO.
The Ukrainian president says new sanctions are needed because, contrary to Putin's claims, they are actually effective against Russia, and he believes the main message in Alaska should be that if Putin refuses to sign a ceasefire, new sanctions can be imposed on Moscow.
Putin is bluffing, currently trying to advance along the entire front line. Putin is also just bluffing that he is not interested in sanctions and that they are not working
– said the Ukrainian president, adding that in his opinion the Russian president does not want peace, but continues to occupy all of Ukraine. For this reason, he urged the introduction of new European and American sanctions.
He concluded his speech by saying that Trump repeatedly emphasized during the video conference that his main goal was a ceasefire and that he would inform him immediately after the meeting, and then they would decide together on the next step.
Later, in response to a journalist's question, he also spoke about his unchanged position regarding the Donbass, which is mostly controlled by Russia: as he emphasized, his position is based on the Ukrainian constitution, which has not changed, so the territorial integrity of Ukraine cannot be decided without the involvement of the Ukrainian people.
After the press conference, the coalition of those ready to act will also hold a one-hour meeting, where they will discuss the discussions with Trump and Vance. Donald Trump will participate in a public event in Washington at 5 p.m. Hungarian time, so reporters will likely be able to ask the president about Wednesday's diplomatic meeting then.
Mark Rutte says Russia is in control, von der Leyen writes about a very good conversation
The video conference has already been praised by several participants. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that they had a “very good conversation.” According to Von der Leyen, today Europe, the United States and NATO also confirmed the common denominator regarding Ukraine.
We will continue to work closely together. No one wants peace more than we do. A just and lasting peace
– concluded the President of the European Commission in his short post.
Like von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also wrote about the video conference on his social media page. Like von der Leyen, the president of the military alliance called today's meeting a very good call, and said that American, Ukrainian and European leaders are working together to"end this terrible war in Ukraine and achieve a just and lasting peace."
Rutte thanked Trump for his efforts and cooperation. He concluded his post by saying
The ball is now in Putin's court.
J.D. Vance says America is committed to peace
After the video conference, US Vice President J. D. Vance spoke for the first time on behalf of the US administration about what was said there. The vice president, who was vacationing in England, gave a short speech at RAF Fairford air base in England, where he also touched on what was said at the video conference.
As an administration, we will consider it our mission to bring peace back to Europe
– the vice president said in his short speech. His boss, Donald Trump, meanwhile, announced this year's awardees at the Kennedy Center in Washington, but did not mention the video conference in his speech.
Meanwhile, the American CBS TV channel, citing two sources involved in the preparation of the negotiations, writes that
The US administration is working to arrange a meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelensky as early as the second half of next week.
Earlier this week, the US president himself said that the next step would be either a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, or a meeting between Zelensky, Putin and Trump after the US-Russia summit on Friday.
European leaders to meet again after Trump-Putin meeting on Friday
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who also participated in the video conference, assessed the meeting with the US President and Vice President in a statement through his spokesperson.
In it, the British Prime Minister, echoing what others had said, expressed the United Kingdom's continued unwavering support for Ukraine, and the leaders agreed that this week was important for the future of Ukraine, and thanked Trump for his efforts so far to achieve a ceasefire.
Starmer also emphasized what Merz had already said: international borders cannot be changed by force, Ukraine must receive robust and credible security guarantees, and Europe will continue to support and work with Trump and Zelensky to achieve a long, lasting peace in Ukraine.
Wednesday's video conferences had a diplomatically interesting episode: while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk represented Poland in the first and third video conferences, which were attended exclusively by heads of state and government of European countries, the new president, Karol Nawrocki, participated in the meeting with Trump.
The latter's foreign policy adviser, Marcin Przydacz, said that Nawrocki was personally invited by Trump, while Tusk disputed this at his own press conference.
Przydacz also said that Nawrocki had informed the US president that Poland believes that only a decisive, tough step can stop Moscow, and that Vladimir Putin should not be allowed to decide on European borders. According to the Polish president's foreign policy advisor, any final solution can and should only be reached with the participation of Ukraine and its representatives.
