Zelensky, European leaders hope to sway Trump before Putin summit

BERLIN, August 14 ------ Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders were to hold urgent talks with United States President Donald Trump, hoping to convince him to respect Kyiv’s interests in his forthcoming summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Amid frantic diplomatic activity, Zelensky arrived in Germany’s capital, Berlin, to be with Chancellor Friedrich Merz for the video conference, a German government source told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Merz has also invited French President Emmanuel Macron, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and other European leaders, as well as the heads of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to one conference call scheduled for 2 p.m. (local time). A second call was to be made an hour later with Trump and Vice President JD Vance before Merz and Zelenskyy give press statements.

The Trump-Putin meeting on Friday in Alaska is so far planned to go ahead without Zelensky, fueling fears that Kyiv could be forced into painful concessions, notably over land. Ahead of the conference call, Zelensky, who spoke with more than 30 international leaders in a few days, said, “pressure must be exerted on Russia for the sake of a fair peace.” “We must learn from the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception on the part of Russia. There are currently no signs that the Russians are preparing to end the war,” he said in a social media statement.

EU leaders stressed on Tuesday “the inherent right of Ukraine to choose its own destiny” and that “international borders must not be changed by force.”

‘Constructive conversations’

Merz’s office said the conference call would discuss “further options to exert pressure on Russia” and “preparation of possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security.” The talks would include leaders from “Finland, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, the heads of the European Commission and Council, the secretary general of NATO, as well as the US president and his deputy,” Berlin said. Macron, Merz, and Starmer were then set to lead a round of talks of the so-called Coalition of the Willing of Ukraine’s military backers.

Trump on Monday played down the possibility of a breakthrough in Alaska, but said he expected “constructive conversations” with Putin. “This is a feel-out meeting a little bit,” Trump said. But he added that, eventually, “there’ll be some swapping, there’ll be some changes in land.” Trump’s spokesman Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday the aim was “for the president to walk away with a better understanding of how we can end this war.” “I think this is a listening exercise for the president,” she added.

Zelensky, meanwhile, has called the Alaska encounter a “personal victory” for Putin. Russia, as a prerequisite to a peace settlement, has demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of several regions claimed by Moscow, commit to being a neutral state, shun US and EU military support, and be excluded from joining NATO. Ukraine has said it would never recognize Russian control over its territory, though it acknowledged that retrieving land captured by Russia would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield. Zelensky on Tuesday ruled out withdrawing troops from the eastern Donbas region, which Moscow claims.

Source: manilatimes.com