European leaders cautiously optimistic on Ukraine ceasefire after call with Trump

European leaders appeared cautiously optimistic following a video call with Donald Trump on Wednesday that the US president will prioritise Ukraine’s interests and push for a ceasefire in talks with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The call brought together Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as well as other EU and NATO leaders, to align their position ahead of Trump’s meeting with Putin in Anchorage.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Zelensky, whom he hosted in Berlin for the call, Merz said that the European leaders had outlined five key points on the peace process to ensure Ukraine was not sidelined.

First, a ceasefire “must come first” as a prerequisite for peace talks, Merz said, and Ukraine “must be at the negotiating table” at any follow-up meetings involving the US and Russia. Any peace settlement should then ensure that Kyiv receives “robust security guarantees” and that the Armed Forces of Ukraine “remain capable of effectively defending their country’s sovereignty”, he continued.

Finally, while Ukraine was open to negotiations on territory with Russia based on the current battlefield front lines, “legal recognition of Russian occupation is not up for debate”, the German chancellor said.

Merz said Trump had heard Europe’s position and would make a ceasefire “one of his priorities” when he meets with Putin.

Macron echoed Merz’s optimism, saying that Trump had been “very clear” that he would push for a ceasefire, as well as a future trilateral meeting involving Zelensky, as he agreed that territorial questions could “only be negotiated by the president of Ukraine”.

The US president had previously raised alarm among European leaders by suggesting he would discuss “land swapping” between Russia and Ukraine with Putin on Friday and expressing his frustration at Zelensky’s refusal to consider territorial concessions.

Trump himself described Wednesday’s call as “very good” and threatened “very severe consequences” for Russia should he not make any progress with Putin on Friday, though he did not provide details of what those may be.

He also said that he saw the aim of Friday’s meeting with Putin as “setting the table” for a follow-up summit that would involve Zelensky.

“If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one,” Trump said. "I would like to do it almost immediately, and we’ll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself, if they’d like to have me there”.

Zelensky, who warned Trump during the call that Putin was “bluffing” about Russia’s desire to end the war, called the conversation “long, productive and positive” and said Ukraine, Europe and the US were aligned in “pursuing a common course” to end the war.