Europeans strike upbeat note after Trump hears them out on Putin summit demands

By Christian Edwards, Lauren Kent, CNN

(CNN) — Since US President Donald Trump announced he will meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska, European leaders have been on edge. Although Trump has lately signaled support for Ukraine, Europe fears that Putin, a former KGB spy, will be able to bring the US president back round to seeing the war on his terms.

Desperate to get Trump’s ear one last time, European leaders on Wednesday held a virtual summit with the US president, in what resembled a pre-match pep talk before he sits one-on-one with Putin on Friday.

The Europeans struck a tentatively upbeat note after the meeting, claiming that Trump had been sympathetic to their calls for an immediate ceasefire, and that Ukraine must have a seat at the table in future negotiations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said those on the call agreed on five “common principles.” First, that nothing about Ukraine should be discussed without Ukraine. Second, that preparations should begin for a joint summit of Ukraine, Russia and the US. Third, that Russia should agree to a ceasefire before peace talks begin in earnest.

Fourth, that Ukraine should receive security guarantees – which Zelensky said Trump supported. “Russia cannot have a veto over Ukraine’s European and NATO prospects,” Zelensky said. And Russia must face fresh sanctions if Putin does not agree to a ceasefire in Alaska. “Peace talks must be combined with appropriate pressure on Russia,” he stressed.

Two European diplomats familiar with the virtual summit told CNN that, during the call, Trump seemed to say he would push for an unconditional ceasefire in his meeting with Putin, saying he believed this would be a show of goodwill from Russia. Trump also said that the issue of Ukrainian territory is not for him to negotiate, the sources said.

In his public comments, Trump – who has veered from praising Putin to pillorying him – struck a harsh tone once more, saying Russia will face “very severe consequences” if its president does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine during Friday’s summit.

Trump told reporters that if the summit goes well, a follow-up meeting between Putin and Zelensky could happen “almost immediately” afterward.

“There’s a very good chance that we’re going to have a second meeting which will be more productive than the first. Because the first is: I’m going to find out where we are, what we’re doing,” Trump said during an appearance at the Kennedy Center.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who convened Wednesday’s call, said that the Europeans “made it clear that Ukraine must be at the table” for the next meeting.

“We want things to go in the right sequence: We want a ceasefire at the very beginning, and then a framework agreement must be drawn up,” Merz said at a press conference with Zelensky.

Although Trump said bluntly on Monday that “there’ll be some land swapping going on,” Merz stressed that legal recognition of Ukrainian territory is “not up for discussion.”

During a meeting in Moscow last week with Witkoff, Putin proposed a plan that would require Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region, most of which is occupied, in exchange for a ceasefire, according to US officials. The exact details of the plan have been shrouded in confusion since reports of it first emerged.

‘Threat is on’

Last week, Trump had given Putin the deadline of August 8 to agree to a ceasefire or face punishing new sanctions on its “shadow fleet,” which has enabled Moscow to circumvent sanctions on its oil exports and finance its war. After the deadline ended without consequence, Trump announced the summit with Putin this Friday.

Putin has long tried to shrug off the effect of sanctions. But Zelensky said Wednesday that the Russian leader was bluffing. “Sanctions are hitting Russia’s war economy hard,” he said after the call with Trump. “Putin can’t fool anyone.”

A European official familiar with the call said that they got the impression the “threat is on” of secondary sanctions against Russia if the upcoming Alaska talks prove fruitless.

It is “obvious that the India sanctions had an effect,” the official said, referring to Trump’s pledge of issuing a 25% additional tariff on India for buying Russian oil. That tariff is expected to go into effect in the weeks ahead.

Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told CNN that Zelensky is urging Trump to use the “stick” he wields over Russia.

“The key issue is the stick that President Trump allegedly has. This could be either more economic sanctions (on Russia), or more military support to Ukraine,” Gabuev said. “That’s where President Zelensky wants to be optimistic that the Russian economy is crumbling.”

But Ukraine is facing its own pressures, he said. This week, small groups of Russian troops pierced parts of Ukraine’s increasingly porous front lines in the eastern Donetsk region, to the alarm of Ukrainian officials and military bloggers. If Russia’s economy is creaking, so is Ukraine’s front line, Gabuev said.

“The timeline here is really crucial,” he added. “Putin is confident that he has another 12 to 18 months, and that Ukraine doesn’t have that.”

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CNN’s Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler, Seb Shukla, Catherine Nicholls, Saskya Vandoorne, Nick Paton Walsh and Bianna Golodryga contributed reporting.