A meeting in Alaska on Friday that could shape the future of Europe’s security will be notable for the absence of Europeans.
Instead, US President Donald Trump will sit down with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin – a pariah in the West since launching his 2022 invasion of Ukraine – without anyone from Kyiv or the other European capitals present.
Fearing Trump could hand Putin a blank cheque to end the war on terms deeply unfavourable to Ukraine, the Europeans have been scrambling to keep the volatile president aligned with them.
Leaders from Ukraine and major European powers held a series of calls with Trump and each other on Wednesday as they tried to exert influence on a meeting to which they had not been invited.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz briefed reporters alongside Zelensky following their call with Trump. “There is hope that something is moving. There’s hope that there could be peace in Ukraine,” he said.
“We, as Europeans, are doing everything we can to help set the agenda for that meeting. We’re hoping that Donald Trump has success in that meeting in Anchorage.”
