Ukrainian President Zelenskyy heads to the Chancellery for discussions prior to the Trump-Putin summit convening
Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, made an unexpected in-person visit to Berlin on August 13, 2025. The visit was confirmed by security circles and marked the start of a series of important video conferences on the ongoing Ukraine war.
The first video conference, organized by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), was scheduled to take place at the Chancellery in Berlin at 2 pm local time. The meeting included European leaders such as France, the UK, Italy, Poland, Finland, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and U.S. President Donald Trump.
At 3 pm, a second video call followed, involving Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Zelensky, and European leaders. The purpose of these meetings was to coordinate and prepare for upcoming talks, emphasizing the need for continued pressure on Russia to end the war.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz planned to discuss the results of these meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer afterward. The meetings occurred two days before a planned Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on August 15, 2025.
Zelensky was reportedly expected to participate in preliminary discussions for the Trump-Putin summit, but the sources do not provide any details about the exact agenda of these video conferences. Further virtual consultations of the Europeans without the Americans are planned after the participation of Trump and Vance.
The sources for this information are "Bild" and the ARD Hauptstadtstudio. The exact date of the Trump-Putin summit remains unspecified in the current paragraph. It should be noted that the video conference in Berlin does not appear to be directly related to the Trump-Putin summit, as earlier sources suggested.
Zelensky's travel to Berlin and participation in these video conferences underscore the importance of international cooperation in resolving the Ukraine conflict and maintaining peace in the region. The meetings are a testament to the ongoing efforts of global leaders to find a resolution to the ongoing crisis.
[1] Bild. (2025). Zelensky visits Berlin ahead of video conferences on Ukraine war. Retrieved from https://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/zelensky-besucht-berlin-vor-video-konferenzen-zum-ukraine-krieg-45250000.bild.html
[2] ARD Hauptstadtstudio. (2025). Zelensky in Berlin: Ukraine-Präsident vor Video-Konferenz. Retrieved from https://www.ard.de/nachrichten/hauptstadtstudio/zelensky-in-berlin-ukraine-prasident-vor-video-konferenz,Zeitpunkt-15-08-2025.html
- The series of important video conferences organized by global leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, discussed policy-and-legislation, politics, and general-news related to war-and-conflicts, particularly the ongoing Ukraine war.
- The meetings, involving leaders from Europe, the US, and Ukraine, aimed to coordinate and prepare for upcoming talks, highlighting the need for continued pressure on Russia to end the war, thus emphasizing the role of policy-and-legislation and politics in resolving war-and-conflicts.
