Fico is echoing the Kremlin's rhetoric, Politico notes.

BRATISLAVA. US President Donald Trump announced during a press conference with Vladimir Putin that he would contact Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

On Saturday, they actually spoke for an hour and a half, followed by a conversation with several leaders of European countries.

Even before the negotiations in Alaska, Europe, Ukraine, and analysts were worried that the American president would succumb to Putin's personal presence and"sell" Ukraine to him.

However, the two and a half hour meeting in Alaska ended without a presentation of the agreed conclusions and with Trump declaring that he would now communicate with Zelensky, representatives of NATO and Europe.

Those who, unlike numerous analysts who see the meeting as a victory for Putin and at the same time an opportunity to continue the war without Trump's threats to impose harsh sanctions, praised the American president for his determination to end the killing of civilians in Ukraine.

In a joint statement, a group of European leaders expressed their determination to put pressure on Russia and to continue supporting Ukraine. In addition, information is beginning to emerge that Trump spoke with European leaders about security guarantees for Ukraine, which is not a NATO member. But also that Putin spoke to Trump about the territorial claims of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.

The SME newspaper summarizes the reactions after the Alaskan summit.

European leaders: Ukraine must receive security guarantees

The European Council published a statement on Saturday in which European leaders"welcomed President Trump's efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia's aggressive war and achieve a just and lasting peace."

The statement was signed by: French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"There is no deal until there is a deal," they said in the statement, referring to Trump's own words after the summit with Putin. They stressed that the next step must be talks with Zelensky himself.

He is planning to travel to Washington on Monday to discuss the summit's conclusions with the US president, and they are also expected to discuss the possibility of organizing a trilateral meeting later in the format of Zelenskyy, Trump and Putin. A group of European leaders has supported the effort for such a format.

European leaders are communicating that Russia cannot have a veto on whether Ukraine joins the EU or NATO, and that Ukraine must have"bulletproof security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity."

It is not clear from the position what guarantees these should be.

However, on Saturday, several media outlets reported that, according to their sources, Trump had discussed with European leaders security guarantees for Ukraine similar to those in place in NATO, but without Ukraine's entry into the North Atlantic Alliance.

AFP cites a diplomatic source who claims that the American side has proposed guarantees for Ukraine at the level of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

It is unclear how such a guarantee would work. Article 5 talks about collective defense. It states that if a NATO ally is the victim of an armed attack, every other member will consider it an armed attack against all members.

In practice, this means that if a NATO country is attacked, other countries are obliged to provide assistance, including the use of armed force if they deem it necessary.

But Trump did not publicly speak about such guarantees after the summit, and has so far been reluctant to deploy American forces in Ukraine to defend it.

"We welcome President Trump's statement that the US is ready to provide security guarantees," a group of European leaders wrote in a joint statement, without elaborating.

The French presidential palace also announced on Saturday that the leaders of the so-called"coalition of the willing" will hold a video conference the day before Zelensky's meeting in Washington. The meeting will be led by Macron, Merz and Starmer.

Slovakia is not part of this informal group of states that actively and openly supports Ukraine in its fight against the war provoked by Russia.

What European leaders said individually:

• British Prime Minister Keir Starmer: Like the European Council's common position, Starmer welcomed the United States' openness alongside Europe to provide Ukraine with"robust security guarantees as part of any deal." "This is important progress and will be key in deterring Putin from coming back for more." He reiterated part of the joint statement that the next step must be talks with President Zelensky."The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him," he wrote.
• Polish President Donald Tusk: He warned that the fight for the future of Ukraine and European security had reached a"decisive phase." "Today it is even clearer that Russia respects only the strong, and Putin has once again shown himself to be a cunning and ruthless player. That is why preserving the unity of the entire West is so important."
• European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen: "The EU is working closely with President Zelensky and the United States to achieve a just and lasting peace. Strong security guarantees that protect the vital security interests of Ukraine and Europe are essential."
• European High Representative Kaja Kallas: "The EU and our European partners worked with President Trump to coordinate ahead of the Alaska meeting. The harsh reality, however, is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon."

Zelensky: Ukraine doesn't just need a break between Russian attacks

Zelensky, who is heading to Washington for talks with Trump on Monday, also says that Ukraine's security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with the involvement of both Europe and the United States.

In a status on the X network, he also wrote that Ukraine needs real, lasting peace and not"another break between Russian invasions."

"In a conversation with President Trump, I said that sanctions should be tightened if trilateral negotiations do not take place or if Russia tries to avoid a real end to the war," he added.

While Trump is saying that the next step in the negotiations could be a trilateral meeting between the US president, the Russian president, and the Ukrainian president, Russian presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov, who was part of Putin's delegation in Alaska, stated that the topic of trilateral negotiations has not yet been raised.

"All issues important for Ukraine must be discussed with the participation of Ukraine, and no issue, especially territorial, can be decided without Ukraine," Zelenskyy adds.

His statement came before the Financial Times published more specific information from the summit in the afternoon, according to which Putin demanded that the Ukrainian army withdraw from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in exchange for a halt to fighting in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions in southern Ukraine. The newspaper cited sources familiar with the Putin-Trump talks as saying that Trump informed the Ukrainian president and European leaders of the Russian president's demand today.

In a later response, the Ukrainian president warned of the threat of increased Russian attacks on Ukraine in the coming days. Putin may thus want to create a more favorable position for himself ahead of the upcoming negotiations.

Fico followed up on the words of the Russian president

The Slovak Prime Minister responded to the summit by declaring that the Trump-Putin meeting had triggered a"standardization of relations" between the US and Russia. The Prime Minister again criticized the EU for its approach to the war and spoke of the need to standardize relations between the Union and Russia,"which the Union is not currently interested in."

While President Putin referred to the "fundamental causes" of the war in Ukraine at a press conference with Trump, Fico noted in the video that the war has its"historical roots". By referring to the"causes of the war", the Russian president is referring to his demands: recognition of the occupied Ukrainian regions as Russian, no membership of Ukraine in NATO or the EU, and Zelensky's departure from office.

The Brussels-based portal Politico also notes that the Slovak prime minister is repeating the narratives spread by the Kremlin.

The Slovak Prime Minister speaks of the need for security guarantees not only for Ukraine, but also for Russia. In the past, he has repeatedly blamed the West for the Russian invasion, also in line with Russian propaganda.

According to Fico's current position, the path does not lead through"insulting" Russia or through sanctions, but through constructive talks.

"The coming days will show whether the major players in the Union will support this process and lead the Ukrainian conflict to a quick end, or whether the European strategy of trying to weaken Russia by providing all possible assistance to Kiev will continue."