Europeans hold urgent talks in bid to influence Trump-Putin meeting

US President hoping for 'constructive conversations' in Friday's discussions

The idea of a Trump-Putin meeting without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has raised fears in Europe that a deal would require Kyiv to cede large parts of territory to Moscow. AFP

European leaders on Monday were locked in efforts to influence US President Donald Trump ahead of a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week.

The idea of a US-Russia meeting without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has raised concerns that any deal would require Kyiv to cede large parts of territory. European countries have reportedly backed Ukraine's position that land swaps should be reciprocal.

"Transatlantic unity, support to Ukraine and pressure on Russia is how we will end this war," the EU's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said after an emergency online meeting of foreign ministers.

Earlier in the day, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had "many fears and a lot of hope" ahead of the Putin-Trump meeting in Alaska on Friday. "For Poland and our partners, it is clear that state borders cannot be changed by force," he said from Warsaw. "Russia's war with Ukraine must not bring benefits to the aggressor."

Also on Monday, Mr Trump appeared to make conciliatory remarks towards Europeans, despite having not included them in previous rounds of diplomatic engagement with Russia over Ukraine.

“I think we’ll have constructive conversations then after that meeting, immediately, maybe as I’m flying out, maybe, as I’m leaving the room, I’ll be calling the European leaders,” Mr Trump said. “We’re going to change the lines, the battle lines. Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They’ve occupied some very prime territory. We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine."

EU foreign ministers on Monday backed US steps that it is hoped will lead to peace in Ukraine. Photo: Kaja Kallas on X

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron said they would hold further talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday. "Other videoconference meetings will also be held on the same day in various formats, including in the presence of President Trump", the French presidency said.

A German representative said leaders of Finland, Italy and Poland will also join the calls. The EU Commission confirmed its President Ursula von der Leyen will attend. The seven leaders have warned that "the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations".

"Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities."

On Wednesday, options to increase pressure on Russia, the sequence of steps in a possible peace process and the future of the territories occupied by Russian troops, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine, will be discussed, the German representative said.

European leaders will at 1500 CET hold a videoconference with Mr Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.

A European Commission official has said territorial swaps from Russia's viewpoint "appear as a rather one-sided swap", Reuters reported. "In the context of these talks, the US administration has been very involved and has shown interest in aligning positioning with Europe."

Europeans want to draw a common red line together with Ukraine that they hope will apply to any potential talks with Russia. But Europe has little leverage to accompany its demands compared to the US. At $64.6 billion, the Kiel Institute estimates, US military aid to Kyiv between January 2022 and April 2025 dwarfs what has been provided by the UK, Ukraine's largest military backer in Europe, at $14.5 million.

In talks hosted by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy over the weekend that included Mr Vance, Europeans rejected a Russian proposal to trade Ukrainian-held parts of the Donetsk region for a ceasefire, The Wall Street Journal reported. According to the US daily newspaper, some European officials said that if Ukraine were to hand over the entire Donetsk region, Russia would have to withdraw from the occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south.