‘No unilateral Ukraine peace deal in Alaska’: Zelenskyy, European leaders urge Trump

BERLIN: European leaders, concerned about potential concessions to Russia, urged US President Donald Trump not to strike a unilateral Ukraine peace deal with President Vladimir Putin during their upcoming meeting in Alaska, CNN reported.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz convened a virtual summit with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders amid fears that Putin could seek to influence the US President into accepting terms favourable to Russia.

After the virtual summit, Zelenskyy and the German Chancellor address reporters in Berlin, Germany, following their meeting with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, as per CNN.

Two European diplomats familiar with the virtual meeting confirmed that Trump appeared to say that he would push for an unconditional ceasefire in his meeting with Putin.

According to sources, Trump said that he believed that a ceasefire would be a show of goodwill from Russia, and he also noted that the Ukrainian territory is not for him to negotiate.

The leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland, NATO, and the European Union had taken part in the virtual meeting with Trump. It was followed by another larger meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” that US Vice President JD Vance attended, according to CNN.

After the meeting, Zelensky said leaders agreed on “five common principles” to lay out the “format of negotiations” to be held in Alaska, including a focus on a ceasefire and “truly reliable” security guarantees. “Everything concerning Ukraine must be discussed exclusively with Ukraine. We must prepare a trilateral format for talks. There must be a ceasefire, that is number one,” he said.

He added, “There must be security guarantees, truly reliable ones. And today, President Trump spoke of his support for this and of America’s readiness to participate”. “Russia cannot have a veto over Ukraine’s European and NATO prospects,” he said. “Peace talks must be combined with appropriate pressure on Russia.”

Zelenskyy also emphasised that sanctions against Russia should be strengthened if no ceasefire agreement is reached on Friday. (ANI)