International leaders in Europe express solidarity with Ukraine as the much-anticipated meeting between Trump and Putin approaches.
In the coming weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska, a development that has raised concerns among European leaders and Ukrainian officials.
Mark Galeotti, a British expert in Russian politics, has argued that Moscow's tactic of encircling towns in eastern Ukraine has brought territorial gains for Russia. However, Putin "does not appear to feel under pressure," according to Galeotti.
The current conditions for peace in Ukraine, as discussed by European leaders and the U.S., emphasize that any peace agreement must not allow Russia to veto Ukraine's future NATO or EU membership, nor limit Ukraine's armed forces or cooperation with allies. The European coalition, including leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and Poland, insists on maintaining pressure on Russia through sanctions until a just and lasting peace is achieved.
The upcoming Trump-Putin meeting has sparked apprehension, with worries about Putin's maximal territorial demands and the exclusion of Ukraine and European voices from Putin-Trump negotiations. European leaders express concern about the shift away from aiming for a ceasefire toward accepting Putin's agenda to prevent Ukraine's integration with NATO or the EU. There is also skepticism about Putin's stated willingness to meet Zelensky in person only after some groundwork for peace is laid, which critics view as a stalling tactic.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is encouraging Washington to toughen sanctions against Russia, stating that Putin only acts under pressure. Mikhail Kasyanov, Putin's first prime minister and later a political opponent, believes the Kremlin would be more willing to negotiate seriously and make some concessions when sanctions have further strained Russia's economy.
Ukrainian officials have indicated that Kyiv would be amenable to a peace deal that would de facto recognize Ukraine's inability to regain lost territories militarily, but Zelenskyy has since insisted that formally ceding land is out of the question. Trump suggested a peace deal could include "some swapping of territories." However, the Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine give up territory, abandon its bid to join NATO, and accept limits on its military in exchange for a withdrawal of Russian troops.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised Washington for taking steps such as allowing more military equipment to flow to Ukraine and imposing secondary sanctions on India for purchasing Russian oil, stating that Trump "clearly is putting pressure on Putin." Any deal that involves Ukraine abandoning territory would be "agonizing" and politically dangerous for Zelenskyy, according to Galeotti.
Moscow has insisted that Ukraine cede pockets of eastern and southern Ukraine it claims to have annexed, despite lacking full military control. European leaders have called for a "just and lasting peace" for Kyiv, including "robust and credible" security guarantees.
Trump said the meeting would focus on ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. Zelenskyy has ruled out giving up territory to Russia. The atmosphere is tense, with fears that Trump's rapid push for a trilateral summit could undermine more nuanced diplomacy and European coordination.
[1] The Guardian
[2] Reuters
[3] BBC News
- Tensions persist as the forthcoming Trump-Putin meeting approaches, raising concerns about Putin's territorial demands and potential exclusion of Ukraine and European voices in negotiations, which could significantly impact ongoing politics, war-and-conflicts, and general-news discussions, as discussed in The Guardian, Reuters, and BBC News.
- Sanctions among multiple European countries have been proposed as a means to pressure Russia amid allegations of encircling towns in eastern Ukraine and stalling peace talks, which has sparked debate within politics and economy, particularly in the context of the Trump-Putin meeting, according to reports from The Guardian, Reuters, and BBC News.
