European leaders undecided on us trip for Zelensky meeting

Germany, France, and the UK will decide Sunday on attending Trump’s meeting with Zelensky in Washington, pending official invitations. Leaders aim to avoid a publicity stunt while discussing Ukraine peace efforts online.

Berlin: The governments of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer plan to decide on Sunday whether their leaders will travel to the US for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, media reported.

According to Germany’s Bild daily, the governments of Merz, Starmer, and Macron intend to coordinate their actions on Sunday and jointly decide who exactly will be travelling to the US on August 18 for Trump’s meeting with Zelensky, Russian news agency Tass reported.

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However, such a decision requires an official invitation from the US, according to Bild. The daily reported that while Trump offered Zelensky the option of inviting European politicians, no official invitations have yet been extended. Bild added that European leaders seek to avoid a meeting intended solely for publicity.

A US daily reported earlier, citing the Elysee Palace, that the “coalition of the willing” will convene a meeting via video link on Sunday. Starmer, Merz, and Macron, who had earlier announced that coalition members would soon hold a conversation without specifying the date, will meet online at 3:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. GMT) on Sunday, Tass reported. The three leaders will discuss “next steps as part of the discussion on peace in Ukraine.”

Another US newspaper reported, citing sources, that following his meeting with Putin, Trump proposed negotiating a peace deal under which Ukraine would give up the rest of the Donbass region to Russia, including areas not yet under Russian control. In return, a ceasefire across the rest of Ukraine at current battlefronts and security guarantees for both Kyiv and Europe would be offered.

On Friday, Putin and Trump met at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Alaska. Their talks lasted nearly three hours, including a one-on-one conversation in the American leader’s limousine en route to the main negotiation venue, as well as a small-group discussion involving three participants on each side.

The Russian delegation included Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while the American side was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff.

In a statement to the media following the talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin said they mostly focused on resolving the Ukraine conflict. Trump described his summit with Putin as “very productive.”

Later, he called Zelensky, EU leaders, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. After the summit and phone calls, Trump said that Ukraine and Russia should proceed directly to agreeing on a final peace deal, dropping his earlier demand for a ceasefire.

Trump and Zelensky are due to meet at the White House on Monday. The US leader said that if talks with Zelensky are successful, another meeting with Putin will be scheduled.