Trump To Join Call With Zelenskyy, European Leaders Ahead Of Putin Meeting

Last Updated:August 11, 2025, 20:31 IST

European leaders and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will call Trump on Wednesday before his meeting with Putin to discuss pressure on Russia and peace talks. VP JD Vance will join.

Russia-Ukraine War: US President Donald Trump with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will hold a call with Donald Trump on Wednesday ahead of the US president’s meeting Friday in Alaska with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, will also join the call, which is set for 3 p.m. in Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s chief spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, said in an email. Kornelius added that, along with Merz, participants will include French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the prime ministers of Italy, Poland, and Finland.

He said the talks will “address further options for exerting pressure on Russia," as well as “the preparation of possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security."

As diplomatic efforts persist to end the Kremlin’s war on its western neighbour, Ukraine and its European allies have been advocating for a ceasefire that would freeze the current frontline as an initial step toward negotiations for a lasting peace agreement, Bloomberg reported.

Putin is demanding that Ukraine cede its entire eastern Donbas area as well as Crimea, which his forces illegally annexed in 2014, as a condition to unlock a ceasefire and enter negotiations over a longer-term accord.

Zelenskyy has affirmed that his government will not surrender any territory, while European leaders have vowed to maintain their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty. However, there is growing concern that Trump and Putin might reach an agreement that overlooks some of their core demands.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said over the weekend that territory would “have to be on the table" along with security guarantees for Ukraine, Bloomberg reported.

He proposed that this might entail Ukraine recognising its loss of control over certain territories while stopping short of formally relinquishing sovereignty.

Trump had threatened sanctions on Russia ahead of a US deadline that expired last Friday, but has so far refrained from taking direct action against the Kremlin.

European Union foreign ministers are holding a call Monday afternoon to discuss the negotiations over the war.

Location :

United States of America (USA)

First Published:

August 11, 2025, 20:31 IST

News world Trump To Join Call With Zelenskyy, European Leaders Ahead Of Putin Meeting

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