European leaders appear restrained optimistic after their appeal to Donald Trump to put the ceasefire of the fire in the Ukraine As a priority at his meeting on Friday (15.08.2025) with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. According to Politico, Berlin, Paris and London they estimate that, after weeks of intensive diplomacy, they have finally managed to get their messages to Washington.
The virtual meeting, which was attended by Donald Trump, Volodimir Zelenski and several European leaders, aimed to determine the “red lines” before the Anchorage session. Chancellor Friedrich Mertz stressed that Ukraine must be involved in every negotiation, that there can be no discussion before a ceasefire, that possible territorial negotiations can only be made from today’s “contact line” without legal recognition of Russian attachmentsthat each agreement must include strong security guarantees for Kiev and that talks must be included in a transatlantic strategy that will provide for increased pressure on Moscow if it does not work in Alaska with Vladimir Putin.
Mertz assured that the US president intends to set the ceasefire “among his priorities” over the Kremlin. For his part, Emmanuel Macron recalled that “the territorial affairs that fall within Ukraine can only negotiate only by the president of Ukraine”, adding that Donald Trump “expressed the same position”.
Constant suspicion of US intentions
In spite of the “general positive climate”, One participant told Politico that Trump “talked much about what he would do, but in a way that did not allow anyone to understand exactly what he intended to do.”
Concerns had intensified after Trump reported on Monday a possible “landscaping” with Russia, an idea that Zelensky categorically rejected. The Ukrainian president claims that Vladimir Putin “bluffs” and tries to put pressure on all fronts before the meeting.
US Finance Minister Scott Bessed has implied that Trump can threaten Moscow with new sanctions if no substantial progress is made, reminding that “all choices are on the table”. British Prime Minister Kir Starmer, for his part, assured that the United Kingdom’s support for Ukraine remains “unmistakable” and that “international border should not be changed by force”.