European leaders urged US President Donald Trump on Wednesday not to strike a unilateral Ukraine peace deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during their one-on-one meeting later this week in Alaska.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had convened the virtual summit with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders as fears mounted that Putin, a former KGB spy, would seek to bring the US president back round to seeing the war on his terms.
After the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Trump was “very clear” that Washington wants to obtain a ceasefire and that Ukraine’s territorial issues cannot be negotiated without Zelensky.
Trump, who described the call as “very good,” told reporters that if his summit with Putin goes well, a follow-up meeting between the Russian president and Zelensky could happen “almost immediately” afterward.
“There’s a very good chance that we’re going to have a second meeting which will be more productive than the first. Because the first is: I’m going to find out where we are, what we’re doing,” Trump said during an appearance at the Kennedy Center.
Two European diplomats familiar with the virtual meeting told CNN that during the call, Trump appeared to say that he would push for an unconditional ceasefire in his meeting with Putin.
Trump said that he believed that a ceasefire would be a show of goodwill from Russia, and he also said that the Ukrainian territory is not for him to negotiate, the sources said.
The leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland, NATO, and the European Union had taken part in the virtual meeting with Trump. It was followed by another larger meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” that US Vice President JD Vance attended.
Following the meetings, Zelensky said leaders agreed on “five common principles” to lay out the “format of negotiations” to be held in Alaska, including a focus on a ceasefire and “truly reliable” security guarantees.
“Everything concerning Ukraine must be discussed exclusively with Ukraine. We must prepare a trilateral format for talks. There must be a ceasefire – that is number one.”
He added: “There must be security guarantees – truly reliable ones. And today, President Trump spoke of his support for this and of America’s readiness to participate.”
“Russia cannot have a veto over Ukraine’s European and NATO prospects,” he said. “Peace talks must be combined with appropriate pressure on Russia.”
Zelensky also urged for sanctions to be strengthened against Russia if no ceasefire agreement is reached on Friday.
Merz told a press conference following the virtual meeting that “we made it clear that Ukraine must be at the table at the next meeting.” He added: “We want things to go in the right sequence: We want a ceasefire at the very beginning, and then a framework agreement must be drawn up.”
Zelensky said Trump had voiced his support for Europe’s demand for an initial ceasefire before talks to reach a full settlement, and said that fresh sanctions should be slapped on Russia if Putin leaves Alaska without agreeing to a ceasefire.
Although Trump said bluntly on Monday that “there’ll be some land swapping going on,” Merz stressed that legal recognition of Ukrainian territory is “not up for discussion.”
During a meeting in Moscow last week with Witkoff, Putin proposed a plan that would require Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region, most of which is occupied, in exchange for a ceasefire, according to US officials. The exact details of the plan have been shrouded in confusion since reports of it first emerged.
‘Threat is on’
Last week, Trump had given Putin the deadline of August 8 to agree to a ceasefire or face punishing new sanctions on its “shadow fleet,” which has enabled Moscow to circumvent sanctions on its oil exports and finance its war. After the deadline ended without consequence, Trump announced the summit with Putin this Friday.
Putin has long tried to shrug off the effect of sanctions. But Zelensky said Wednesday that the Russian leader was bluffing. “Sanctions are hitting Russia’s war economy hard,” he said after the call with Trump. “Putin can’t fool anyone.”
A European official familiar with the call said that they got the impression the “threat is on” of secondary sanctions against Russia if the upcoming Alaska talks prove fruitless.
It is “obvious that the India sanctions had an effect,” the official said, referring to Trump’s pledge of issuing a 25% additional tariff on India for buying Russian oil. That tariff is expected to go into effect in the weeks ahead.
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<div class=”updated”>Updated Aug 13, 2025, 5:07 PM ET</div>
<div class=”timestamp__published”>PUBLISHED Aug 13, 2025, 2:46 PM ET</div>
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Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told CNN that Zelensky is urging Trump to use the “stick” he wields over Russia.
“The key issue is the stick that President Trump allegedly has. This could be either more economic sanctions (on Russia), or more military support to Ukraine,” Gabuev said. “That’s where President Zelensky wants to be optimistic that the Russian economy is crumbling.”
But Ukraine is facing its own pressures, he said. This week, small groups of Russian troops pierced parts of Ukraine’s increasingly porous front lines in the eastern Donetsk region, to the alarm of Ukrainian officials and military bloggers. If Russia’s economy is creaking, so is Ukraine’s front line, Gabuev said.
“The timeline here is really crucial,” he added. “Putin is confident that he has another 12 to 18 months, and that Ukraine doesn’t have that.”
CNN’s Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler, Seb Shukla, Catherine Nicholls, Saskya Vandoorne, Nick Paton Walsh and Bianna Golodryga contributed reporting.