European leaders rallied behind President Donald Trump’s latest push to end the war in Ukraine, voicing support for his call for a trilateral summit involving Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow, as they pledged to keep up pressure on Russia until a peace deal is secured.
Trump briefed senior European counterparts and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Aug. 16 following his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, the day prior.
While the high-stakes meeting did not produce a cease-fire, both Trump and Putin said it laid the groundwork for future negotiations.
In a joint statement on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, European Council President António Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed Trump’s initiative.
“Leaders welcomed President Trump’s efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia’s war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace,” the statement read.
It stressed that “Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees” and underscored that “Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine’s pathway to EU and NATO.”
The leaders signaled readiness to support Trump’s proposal for a three-way summit with Zelenskyy and Putin, saying they would back “further talks, including President Zelenskyy, whom [Trump] will meet soon.”
They also emphasized that “international borders must not be changed by force,” and pledged to continue sanctions on Moscow until a settlement is reached.
Zelenskyy Confirms Washington Meeting
Zelenskyy confirmed he will meet Trump in Washington on Aug. 18, writing on X that he held “a long and substantive conversation” with Trump, including an hour-long one-on-one before European leaders joined the call.
“Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace,” Zelenskyy wrote.
He added that Kyiv backs Trump’s idea of a trilateral meeting with Russia and stressed the importance of European involvement “at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America.”
Zelenskyy said the Washington talks would cover “all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war” and welcomed what he described as “positive signals from the American side” on U.S. participation in security guarantees for Ukraine.
Ahead of his meeting with the Russian leader, Trump told reporters he was considering U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, while making clear that this would not involve NATO membership.
Nordic-Baltic Backing
Separately, the leaders of the Nordic-Baltic Eight—Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden—issued their own joint statement on Aug. 16, reaffirming support both for Ukraine and for Trump’s diplomatic push.
“Achieving a just and lasting peace requires a ceasefire. And credible security guarantees for Ukraine,” the statement said, adding that “no limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces or on its cooperation with other countries.”
The Nordic-Baltic leaders said they welcomed Trump’s statement that Washington “is prepared to participate in security guarantees,” while pledging to continue arming Ukraine and strengthening sanctions against Moscow’s war economy “as long as Russia continues its killing.”
Trump, Putin Signal Progress
Trump told Fox News after his meeting with Putin that the two sides had reached an agreement on many points, but that “one or two pretty significant items” remained unresolved.
He said the ball was now in Zelenskyy’s court.
“Now it’s really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done, and I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit,” Trump said.
At a joint press conference in Alaska, Putin said he expected the talks to be “the starting point not only for the solution of the Ukrainian issue, but also [to] help us bring back business-like and pragmatic relations between Russia and the U.S.”
Neither leader took questions nor disclosed details of the discussions.
The war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, has entered its fourth year with no immediate cease-fire in sight. Trump has made ending the conflict a centerpiece of his foreign policy, and while he signaled progress during the Alaska summit, he also said that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
