'Europe is tired of the war’: Trump to call Zelensky and Europe ahead of Putin meeting
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Europe is tired of the war’: Trump to call Zelensky and Europe ahead of Putin meeting")
Trump to call Zelensky and Europe ahead of Putin meeting Photograph: (Reuters)
Trump plans to consult Zelensky and European leaders before meeting Putin, aiming for a quick ceasefire. He praised European leaders, emphasised strong ties, and sought input for productive talks.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed he will consult with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders before his planned talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Praising his European counterparts as “great people, great leaders,” Trump claimed they are “tired” of the ongoing conflict and “want to get back to spending money on their countries.”
‘They rely on me’ says Trump of European leaders
Trump said he has an “extremely good” relationship with leaders across Europe, joking: “There are a lot of European leaders, but they rely on me.” “So I’m talking to the European leaders, I’ll be talking to President Zelensky. I’m going to get everybody’s ideas. I go into that thing fully loaded right up there, and we’re going to see what happens,” he said. The president added that he sees two possible outcomes from his meeting with Putin, “It could be a good meeting, and we’ll go a step further. We’ll get it done. I’d like to see a ceasefire very, very quickly, very quick. I’d like to see it immediately.”
Germany to host virtual talks with EU and NATO leaders
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Earlier, Berlin confirmed that Chancellor Friedrich Merz will hold “virtual talks” involving leaders from Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The discussions will include Zelensky and will be followed by a separate call with Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance.
Peace talks and pressure on Russia on the agenda
A statement from Merz’s office said the talks will explore “further options for exerting pressure on Russia” and prepare “possible peace negotiations,” including discussions on “related issues of territorial claims and security.” Trump said he hopes these consultations will pave the way for “great success” in the upcoming discussions with Putin.
