European Leaders Rush to Coordinate with Trump Ahead of High-Stakes Alaska Summit with Putin
In a swift diplomatic maneuver, European leaders are urgently seeking direct contact with U.S. President Donald Trump before his historic and potentially game-changing summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday.
With tensions over the war in Ukraine reaching a critical juncture, the European Union has confirmed that its Foreign Affairs Council will convene on August 11 — just days before the Trump-Putin talks set for August 15 in Anchorage. The emergency coordination comes amid growing concern in European capitals about the direction of U.S.-Russia negotiations and the future of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Sources within the EU indicate that top officials want to align positions with the Trump administration before the Alaska meeting, fearing that any deal struck without European and Ukrainian input could undermine years of transatlantic policy.
“We’re not trying to steer the ship from Washington,” one senior EU diplomat told European Daily, “but we absolutely must be heard before any irreversible decisions are made.”
The push follows intense behind-the-scenes diplomacy over the weekend, including high-level meetings in London on Saturday between U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and representatives from key EU nations. Those talks focused on the latest Russian demands — which, according to Bloomberg, include Ukraine ceding full control of Crimea and the entirety of the eastern Donbas region as a precondition for even a ceasefire.
Such a concession would mark a dramatic shift in the conflict, effectively recognizing Russia’s de facto control over large swaths of Ukrainian territory — though not legally renouncing Kyiv’s sovereignty, according to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
“Security guarantees for Ukraine must go hand-in-hand with any discussion of territorial realities,” Rutte emphasized in a statement released Sunday. “No peace deal is sustainable if it sacrifices Ukraine’s future.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas echoed this sentiment, telling colleagues during a Sunday briefing: “The United States has the leverage to bring Putin to the table, we recognize that. But Europe and Ukraine cannot be sidelined in whatever comes next.”
In anticipation of the Alaska summit, EU ambassadors met informally under Coreper II on Sunday to assess intelligence and diplomatic developments. A virtual emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers is now scheduled for Monday at 4:00 PM Brussels time, where they are expected to finalize a coordinated strategy to influence the outcome — even if indirectly.
“The message is clear,” said a senior EU representative, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Trump may lead the talks, but Europe will not accept a backroom deal that compromises Ukraine’s sovereignty or reshapes the continent’s security order without consultation.”
As the world watches the Alaska summit loom, one thing is certain: the transatlantic alliance is pulling every lever to ensure that peace — if it comes — is not bought at the cost of principle.
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