Berlin/Kiev (Reuters)-European and Ukraine leaders made a last effort on Wednesday to persuade US President Donald Trump not to close a peace agreement for Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who fear they could betray Kiev’s interests.
Trump and Putin will meet in Alaska on Friday to talk about how to close the three and a half year conflict, the largest in Europe since World War II. Trump said both sides will have to exchange territories to end the fight, which has cost tens of thousands of lives.
On a day of intense diplomacy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Berlin for Germany -organized virtual meetings with European leaders and Trump. Europeans are concerned that a land exchange could leave Russia with almost a fifth of Ukraine and encourage Putin to expand more to the west in the future.
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Since announced the summit in Alaska, Trump has minimized expectations for conversations, saying it would be an exploratory meeting while he seeks to end Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
In a first video conferencing, Zelensky and his host, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, gathered on Wednesday with the leaders of Finland, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland and the European Union, as well as with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to discuss his proposal to Trump and try to shape the result of Friday summit.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance later joined the conversation, according to a source familiar with the situation.
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“I will talk to the European leaders in a moment. They are great people who want to see a closed deal,” Trump wrote on the Social Truth.
Europe and Kiev fear unfavorable agreement
The unpredictability of the summit in Alaska has fueled European fears that the US and Russia could make long -range decisions above their heads and even try to coerce Ukraine to an unfavorable agreement.
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“We are now focusing on ensuring that this does not happen – interacting with US partners and remaining coordinated and united on the European side,” said a senior authority from Eastern Europe.
For fear of irritating Trump, European leaders have repeatedly said that they greet their efforts, while emphasizing that there should be no agreement on Ukraine without the participation of Ukraine.
Trump’s government moderated expectations on Tuesday, telling reporters that the summit would be a “listening exercise” for him to hear what would be necessary to reach an agreement.
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Trump’s deal last week to the summit was an abrupt change after weeks when he was expressing frustration with Putin for resisting the US peace initiative. Trump said his envoy had made “great progress” in the negotiations in Moscow.
Half a dozen graduated European authorities have told Reuters that they are at risk of being closed that is unfavorable to Europe and Ukraine security. They said European unity would be vital if it happened.
