Europe tells Trump to stand firm against Putin on Ukraine ceasefire
The proposal emerged from an online meeting to set the terms for the talks on Friday, amid European concerns that Trump will trade away territory at his summit with Putin without pushing hard enough for an end to the hostilities and guarantees over future security.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the meeting, which included Trump as well as every major European leader, that Putin was 'bluffing' about his desire for peace and should be subjected to escalating economic sanctions.
Trump described the call as 'very friendly' and later appeared to harden his message to Putin by threatening 'very severe consequences' for Russia if it did not agree to a peace deal, but he offered no detail about what this would mean.
With Russian forces piercing some of the Ukrainian defences on the front line at the same time as Russian missiles bring destruction to Ukrainian cities, the Alaska summit represents the first significant opportunity for a ceasefire after months of intensifying attacks.
Loading
Zelensky told Trump on Wednesday, Berlin time, to heighten pressure on Putin with economic sanctions and secondary tariffs because the Russian leader was only pretending to consider a ceasefire.
'I told the US president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing,' he said at a press conference after the online meeting.
'He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
29 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Zelenskiy braces for perilous Trump talks in Washington
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy is flying to Washington under heavy US pressure to agree a swift end to Russia's war in Ukraine, but is determined to defend Kyiv's interests, without sparking a second Oval Office bust-up with Donald Trump. The US president invited Zelenskiy to Washington after rolling out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin, Kyiv's arch foe, at a summit in Alaska that shocked many in Ukraine, where tens of thousands have died since Russia's 2022 invasion. The Alaska talks failed to produce the ceasefire that Trump had sought, and the US leader said on Saturday that he now wanted a full-fledged peace deal and that Kyiv should accept because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not". The blunt rhetoric throws the weight of expectation squarely back onto Zelenskiy, putting him in a potentially perilous position as he returns to Washington for the first time since his talks with Trump in the Oval Office spiralled into acrimony in February. The US president upbraided Zelenskiy in front of world media at the time, saying Ukraine's leader did not "hold the cards" in negotiations and that what he described as Kyiv's intransigence risked triggering World War Three. Trump's pursuit of a quick deal now comes despite intense diplomacy by the European allies and Ukraine to convince the US president that a ceasefire should come first and not, as sought by the Kremlin, once a settlement is agreed. The New York Times, citing two senior European officials, reported on Saturday that European leaders were also invited to attend Monday's meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Trump briefed Zelenskiy on his talks with Putin during a call on Saturday that lasted more than an hour and a half, the Ukrainian leader said. They were joined after an hour by European and NATO officials, he added. "The impression is he wants a fast deal at any price," a source familiar with the conversation told Reuters. The source said Trump sought to convince Zelenskiy to agree to the idea of a deal in which he would withdraw troops from the partially-occupied eastern Donetsk region that Russian troops have been trying to capture for years. Zelenskiy replied that it was not possible, the source added. Kyiv has publicly dismissed the idea of withdrawing from internationally recognised Ukrainian land they control as part of any deal. Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials say, serves as a fortress holding back Russian advances deeper into Ukraine. Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told Reuters by phone that Trump's emphasis on a deal rather than a ceasefire carried great risks for Ukraine. "In Putin's view, a peace agreement means several dangerous things – Ukraine not joining NATO, his absurd demands for denazification and demilitarisation, the Russian language and the Russian church," he said. Any such deal could be politically explosive inside Ukraine, Merezhko said, adding he was worried that Putin's international isolation had ended. Avoiding a repeat of the Oval Office acrimony is critical for Zelenskiy to preserve the relationship with the US, which still provides military assistance and shares intelligence. For Ukraine, robust security guarantees to prevent any future Russian invasion lie at the foundations of any serious peace settlement. Two sources familiar with the matter said that Trump and the European leaders discussed potential security guarantees for Ukraine that would be outside NATO but similar to the alliance's Article 5 during their call on Saturday. NATO, which Kyiv seeks to join, though Trump has made clear that it will not happen soon, regards any attack launched on one of its 32 members as an attack on all under its Article 5 clause. One of the two sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said European leaders were seeking clarity on what kind of US role this guarantee would involve, but that there were no details yet. Zelenskiy has repeatedly said a trilateral meeting with the Russian and US leaders is crucial to finding a way to end the full-scale war launched by Russia in February 2022. Trump this week voiced the idea of such a meeting, saying it could happen if his bilateral talks in Alaska with Putin were successful. "Ukraine emphasises that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this," Zelenskiy wrote on social media on Saturday.
West Australian
29 minutes ago
- West Australian
Zelenskiy braces for perilous Trump talks in Washington
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy is flying to Washington under heavy US pressure to agree a swift end to Russia's war in Ukraine, but is determined to defend Kyiv's interests, without sparking a second Oval Office bust-up with Donald Trump. The US president invited Zelenskiy to Washington after rolling out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin, Kyiv's arch foe, at a summit in Alaska that shocked many in Ukraine, where tens of thousands have died since Russia's 2022 invasion. The Alaska talks failed to produce the ceasefire that Trump had sought, and the US leader said on Saturday that he now wanted a full-fledged peace deal and that Kyiv should accept because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not". The blunt rhetoric throws the weight of expectation squarely back onto Zelenskiy, putting him in a potentially perilous position as he returns to Washington for the first time since his talks with Trump in the Oval Office spiralled into acrimony in February. The US president upbraided Zelenskiy in front of world media at the time, saying Ukraine's leader did not "hold the cards" in negotiations and that what he described as Kyiv's intransigence risked triggering World War Three. Trump's pursuit of a quick deal now comes despite intense diplomacy by the European allies and Ukraine to convince the US president that a ceasefire should come first and not, as sought by the Kremlin, once a settlement is agreed. The New York Times, citing two senior European officials, reported on Saturday that European leaders were also invited to attend Monday's meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Trump briefed Zelenskiy on his talks with Putin during a call on Saturday that lasted more than an hour and a half, the Ukrainian leader said. They were joined after an hour by European and NATO officials, he added. "The impression is he wants a fast deal at any price," a source familiar with the conversation told Reuters. The source said Trump sought to convince Zelenskiy to agree to the idea of a deal in which he would withdraw troops from the partially-occupied eastern Donetsk region that Russian troops have been trying to capture for years. Zelenskiy replied that it was not possible, the source added. Kyiv has publicly dismissed the idea of withdrawing from internationally recognised Ukrainian land they control as part of any deal. Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials say, serves as a fortress holding back Russian advances deeper into Ukraine. Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told Reuters by phone that Trump's emphasis on a deal rather than a ceasefire carried great risks for Ukraine. "In Putin's view, a peace agreement means several dangerous things – Ukraine not joining NATO, his absurd demands for denazification and demilitarisation, the Russian language and the Russian church," he said. Any such deal could be politically explosive inside Ukraine, Merezhko said, adding he was worried that Putin's international isolation had ended. Avoiding a repeat of the Oval Office acrimony is critical for Zelenskiy to preserve the relationship with the US, which still provides military assistance and shares intelligence. For Ukraine, robust security guarantees to prevent any future Russian invasion lie at the foundations of any serious peace settlement. Two sources familiar with the matter said that Trump and the European leaders discussed potential security guarantees for Ukraine that would be outside NATO but similar to the alliance's Article 5 during their call on Saturday. NATO, which Kyiv seeks to join, though Trump has made clear that it will not happen soon, regards any attack launched on one of its 32 members as an attack on all under its Article 5 clause. One of the two sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said European leaders were seeking clarity on what kind of US role this guarantee would involve, but that there were no details yet. Zelenskiy has repeatedly said a trilateral meeting with the Russian and US leaders is crucial to finding a way to end the full-scale war launched by Russia in February 2022. Trump this week voiced the idea of such a meeting, saying it could happen if his bilateral talks in Alaska with Putin were successful. "Ukraine emphasises that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this," Zelenskiy wrote on social media on Saturday.
9 News
2 hours ago
- 9 News
Ukraine's Zelenskyy to meet Trump after Alaska summit secured no halt to fighting
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Putin has long said that Moscow is not interested in a temporary truce, and instead is seeking a long-term settlement that takes the Kremlin's interests into account. US President Donald Trump listens as Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference at Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) After calls with Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump posted that "it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up." In a statement after the Trump call, the European leaders did not address whether a peace deal was preferable to a ceasefire, saying they "welcomed President Trump's efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia's war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace." Trump and Ukraine's European allies had been calling for a ceasefire ahead of any negotiations. Trump's statement that a peace agreement should be reached before a ceasefire appears to indicate Trump's thinking is "shifting towards Putin", an approach that would allow Moscow to keep fighting while negotiating, said Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London. Zelenskyy, who was not invited to Alaska for the summit, said he had a "long and substantive" conversation with Trump early on Saturday. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Zelenskyy, who was not invited to Alaska for the summit, said he had a "long and substantive" conversation with Trump early on Saturday. He said they would "discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war" on Monday. It will be Zelenskyy's first visit to the US since Trump berated him publicly for being "disrespectful" during an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on February 28. Trump, who also held calls with European leaders on Saturday, confirmed the White House meeting and said that "if all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin." Trump rolled out the red carpet on Friday for Putin, who was in the US for the first time in a decade and since the start of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But he gave little concrete detail afterward of what was discussed. It will be Zelenskyy's first visit to the US since Trump berated him publicly for being "disrespectful" during an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on February 28. (Mstyslav Chernov) On Saturday, he posted on social media that it "went very well." Trump had warned ahead of the summit of "very severe consequences" for Russia if Putin doesn't agree to end the war. Zelenskyy reiterated the importance of involving European leaders, who also were not at the summit. "It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America," he said. "We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine's security." He didn't elaborate, but Zelenskyy previously has said that European partners put on hold a proposal to establish a foreign troop presence in Ukraine to deter Russian aggression because it lacked an American backstop. Zelenskyy said he spoke to Trump one-on-one and then in a call with other European leaders. In total, the conversations lasted over 90 minutes. Trump said in Alaska that "there's no deal until there's a deal," after Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an "understanding" on Ukraine and warned Europe not to "torpedo the nascent progress." During an interview with Fox News Channel before returning to Washington, Trump insisted the onus going forward might be on Zelenskyy "to get it done," but said there would also be some involvement from European nations. US President Donald Trump listens as Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference at Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) In their statement after speaking to Trump, major European leaders said they were ready to work with Trump and Zelenskyy toward "a trilateral summit with European support." The statement from French, German, Italian, British, Finnish, Polish and European Union said that "Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees" and welcomed US readiness to provide them. "It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory," they said. "International borders must not be changed by force." EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said "the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon," noting that Moscow launched new attacks on Ukraine even as the delegations met. "Putin continues to drag out negotiations and hopes he gets away with it. He left Anchorage without making any commitments to end the killing," she said. F-35 fighter escorts a Ilyushin Il-96-300 aircraft of the Russia Special Flight Squadron carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin back to Russia after his meeting with US President Donald Trump on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Ukrainian and Russian forces are fighting along a 1000-kilometre front line. Since spring, Russian troops have accelerated their gains, capturing the most territory since the opening stages of the war. "Vladimir Putin came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war," said Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute. "He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished." Zelenskyy voiced support for Trump's proposal for a trilateral meeting with the US and Russia. He said that "key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this." But Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian state television Saturday that a possible three-way meeting "has not been touched upon yet" in US-Russia discussions. Zelenskyy wrote on X that he told Trump that "sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war." US President Donald Trump boards Air Force one at Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson following a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Russian officials and media struck a largely positive tone, with some describing Friday's meeting as a symbolic end to Putin's isolation in the West. Former President Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council, praised the summit as a breakthrough in restoring high-level dialogue between Moscow and Washington, describing the talks as "calm, without ultimatums and threats". Putin has "broken out of international isolation" and back on the world stage as one of two global leaders, and "wasn't in the least challenged" by Trump, who also ignored an arrest warrant issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court, said Laurie Bristow, who was British ambassador to Russia from 2016 to 2020. "Unless Mr. Putin is absolutely convinced that he cannot win militarily, the fighting is not going to stop," Bristow told The Associated Press. "That's the big takeaway from the Anchorage summit." Russian attacks on Ukraine continued overnight, using one ballistic missile and 85 Shahed drones, 61 of which were shot down, Ukraine's air force said. Front-line areas of Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Chernihiv were attacked. Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defenses shot down 29 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Sea of Azov overnight. CONTACT US
