A ceasefire is needed before any further action, including the exchange of territories, which must be mutual. Excluded from the August 15 summit in Alaska, Europe is trying to carve out a role for itself."The future of Ukraine cannot be decided without the Ukrainians, who have been fighting for their freedom and security for over three years. Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution, because their security depends on it." The words in quotation marks are those written by French President Emmanuel Macron on X after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. And after a meeting in the United Kingdom, in the Kent countryside, the European countries responded to Vladimir Putin 's plan for a truce (there was talk of the cession of Donbass, for starters) with a counterproposal which, in their opinion, should be the framework and which – according to the Wall Street Journal – would reject the Russian proposal to exchange some regions of Donetsk controlled by Ukraine. “We remain committed to supporting Ukraine, working in a spirit of unity and continuing the work done within the coalition of the Willing ,” Macron added in his tweet.

Zelensky, for his part, has repeatedly invoked"the voice of Europe" over the past 24 hours, ever since the prospect of a face-to-face meeting between the presidents of the United States and Russia, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, became more concrete. And the Ukrainian president also spoke with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez:"Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. We must remain united," a line insisted on by Sánchez, who emphasizes the need for"a just and lasting peace" that "respects the independence and sovereignty" of Kiev.

Meeting in the English countryside

Ukrainian and European officials met with US national security representatives at the residence of British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Chevening, Kent. The meeting was to define a common position ahead of the August meeting. Also present at Chevening House was US Vice President J.D. Vance, who is spending his summer holidays with his family at the British Foreign Minister's country residence (photos of the two going fishing together have been circulating). Representatives from Italy (with Ambassador Fabrizio Saggio, diplomatic advisor to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni), France, Germany, and Poland also attended the meeting. Downing Street described it as"a fundamental forum to discuss progress towards achieving a just and lasting peace." Ursula von der Leyen, however, was not present. The President of the European Commission"has been in contact with EU leaders." A senior Brussels official attended in place of the head of the EU executive.