European Leaders, Zelenskiy To Speak With Trump On Wednesday
Putin is demanding that Ukraine cede its entire eastern Donbas area as well as Crimea, which his forces illegally annexed in 2014, as a condition to unlock a ceasefire and enter negotiations.
European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will hold a call with Donald Trump on Wednesday ahead of the US president’s meeting Friday in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, will also join the call, scheduled for 3 p.m. in Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s chief spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, said by email. As well as Merz, European leaders due to take part include French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the prime ministers of Italy, Poland and Finland, Kornelius added.
He said the talks will “address further options for exerting pressure on Russia,” as well as “the preparation of possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security.”
As diplomatic efforts continue to end the Kremlin’s war on its western neighbor, Ukraine and its European allies have been pushing for a ceasefire freezing the current frontline as a first step ahead of talks on a more enduring settlement.
Putin is demanding that Ukraine cede its entire eastern Donbas area as well as Crimea, which his forces illegally annexed in 2014, as a condition to unlock a ceasefire and enter negotiations over a longer-term accord.
Zelenskiy has said that his government won’t cede territory and European leaders have pledged their continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty. At the same time, they’re increasingly concerned that Trump and Putin could strike a deal that ignores some of their key demands.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said over the weekend that territory would “have to be on the table” along with security guarantees for Ukraine.
He suggested that could involve Ukraine acknowledging that it has lost control of some of its land without formally giving up sovereignty over it.
Trump had threatened sanctions on Russia ahead of a US deadline that expired last Friday, but has so far refrained from taking direct action against the Kremlin.
European Union foreign ministers are holding a call Monday afternoon to discuss the negotiations over the war.
