A virtual meeting on Wednesday (13), convened by the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, gathered US President Donald Trump, European leaders, NATO Secretary Mark Rutte, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, to align positions on the eve of the Vladimir dictator and dictator Vladimir Putin, scheduled to take place this Friday (15) in Alaska. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended the meeting from Berlin, where he met Merz personally.
According to Merz, the goal of the meeting was to prepare land for the meeting at Alaska “go in the right direction”.
“We want President Trump to succeed on Friday,” the chancellor said in a press conference after the meeting. Merz was next to Zelensky, who, in turn, said he waited for the Alaskan meeting to result in a ceasefire.
“We talked about the meeting at Alaska and hope that there will be a ceasefire there,” said the Ukrainian leader. He pointed out that “Putin will not be able to deceive anyone” and that it takes “pressure to achieve peace”, reiterating that the Russian dictator “wants to occupy all Ukraine” and “does not want peace.”
The Ukrainian President also rejected any negotiation involving assignment of territory, noting that his position is supported by the country’s constitution. “We have a constitution. It is our foundation. And the Constitution has not changed and I cannot change the Constitution. I am the guarantor of the Constitution,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump was “very clear” at today’s meeting by stating that his priority in conversation with Putin will be getting a ceasefire. “We support this initiative,” said the French leader.
Macron reported that the US President also agreed that territorial issues involving Ukraine “cannot and will not be negotiated without Ukraine and its president” and indicated that the United States are willing to offer security guarantees to the country in case of a peace agreement.
Macron added that Trump said in the conversation that he intends to enable a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky.
“We hope it can be held in Europe, in a neutral country, acceptable for all parties,” said the Frenchman, who minimized the European absence at Alaska meeting, classifying as “natural” that USA and Russia come together.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte described the conversation held on Wednesday as “great” and stated that Western allies are united in search of “just and lasting peace” to Ukraine.
“The ball is now in Putin’s field,” he said.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the meeting strengthened “the common base” between Europe, the United States and NATO to support Kiev. European Council President António Costa wished “great success” to the meeting on Friday to “reach a ceasefire and pave the way for peace.”
British Prime Minister Keir Strmer stressed that Ukraine at this time needs “robust and credible safety guarantees” in any agreement, stating that international borders “cannot be changed by force”. London also thanked Trump “for his efforts to bring Putin to the negotiating table and end the bloodshed.”
