Europe
Live updates: Trump to meet Zelensky and EU leaders ahead of Putin summit
President Donald Trump is participating in online talks on Ukraine today, a White House official told CNN.
The talks come ahead of Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said yesterday he was planning to host a virtual meeting with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine.
With the Trump-Putin summit looking set to sideline Ukraine and Europe, the German government on Monday said it was arranging a meeting of its own to prepare for “possible peace negotiations” and potential “territorial claims.”
“The talks will focus on further options for action to put pressure on Russia,” the German government said.
Merz invited the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Finland, Italy, Poland and Ukraine to the meeting, the government said, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and Trump and his Vice President JD Vance.