Europe Asia News

The meeting took place ahead of Trump’s scheduled Friday talks in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss possible solutions to the war in Ukraine.

According to Politico, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that after Wednesday’s digital meeting, the EU and Ukraine presented five key positions to the U.S. president.

These concern Ukraine’s participation in future negotiations, securing a ceasefire to enable peace talks to begin, and providing Ukraine with solid security guarantees in any agreement.

Before the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, the U.S. president stated that a “land swap” was necessary to achieve peace, a remark that worried many European leaders. In the fourth demand, the EU and Ukraine insist that all negotiations on territorial issues be conducted based on the “line of contact,” also known as the front line. Legal recognition of areas claimed by Russia in Ukraine is off the table.

The final demand involves putting pressure on Russia. Ukraine and the EU want additional sanctions imposed if there is no progress in the Alaska talks.

Some of these positions had been discussed earlier; for example, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Trump agreed on Ukraine’s participation in negotiations concerning territorial issues.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary does not rule out the possibility of further sanctions against Russia in the future.

However, it is still unclear what will actually come out of the Alaska meeting. Before the meeting, Zelensky did not hesitate to voice his distrust of Putin, believing that Russia’s constant goal is to seize all of Ukraine.