Zelenskyy, European Leaders Cautiously Optimistic After Call With Trump Ahead Of Alaska Summit

European leaders along with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a virtual meeting with Donald Trump on Wednesday ahead of his meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss a possible ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump reportedly stated that the meeting was intended to establish a ceasefire between both nations, BBC reported.

The European leaders appeared cautiously optimistic with French President Emmanuel Macron claiming that Trump had asserted that any territorial claims need to be decided in Zelenskyy’s presence and with security guarantees forming a part of the deal. Any territorial exchange in Ukraine “must only be discussed with Ukraine”, he said. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Zelenskyy delivered joint statements highlighting that Ukraine’s security interests must be respected at the Alaska summit. We have made it clear that Ukraine will be at the table as soon as there is a follow-up meeting,” Merz told reporters in Berlin alongside Zelenskyy. “President Trump wants to make a ceasefire a priority,” he added.

During the press conference, Zelenskyy said that Putin is “bluffing” about being interested in peace. “Russia is attempting to portray itself as capable of occupying all of Ukraine. That is undoubtedly what they want,” Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader also warned that “talks about us, without us, will not work”.

“Everything concerning Ukraine must be discussed exclusively with Ukraine. We must prepare a trilateral format for talks. There must be a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy added. He further said that “there must be security guarantees – truly reliable ones,” Al Jazeera reported. The Ukrainian leader also asserted that Russia must not block Ukraine’s path to join the EU NATO.

Trump and Vice-President JD Vance spoke to the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland as well as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and NATO chief Mark Rutte. After the meeting, Trump rated it to be “a 10” and assured that Russia would face severe consequences if a ceasefire is not agreed.