European leaders on Saturday said they welcomed President Trump’s efforts to bring peace to Ukraine but pushed for more “ironclad security guarantees” after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump called NATO and European leaders following the summit in Anchorage, Alaska — which did not include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — to brief them on the meeting, which the president said was “productive” but did not end in a ceasefire agreement.
The group of EU leaders, dubbed the “Coalition of the Willing,” added that they are ready to work with the U.S. and Ukraine as the nations prepare for a potential trilateral summit including Putin, Zelensky and Trump.
“We are clear that Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We welcome President Trump’s statement that the US is prepared to give security guarantees,” the leaders wrote in a statement, but included some caveats.
“The Coalition of the Willing is ready to play an active role,” they continued. “No limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries. Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to EU and NATO.”
The group added, “As President Trump said ‘there’s no deal until there’s a deal.’ As envisioned by President Trump, the next step must now be further talks including President Zelenskyy, whom he will meet soon.”
Zelensky is expected to travel to the White House on Monday. The visit will be the Ukrainian leader’s first time in Washington since the historic blow-up earlier this year, though they did meet at the Vatican on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral in between.
On Friday, Trump and Putin spoke for roughly three hours in a closed-door summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. During a news conference following the meeting, they revealed very little of what “progress” the two suggested was made toward bringing an end to the more than three-year-war in Eastern Europe and took no questions from the press.
In an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity later Friday, the president said any ceasefire agreement or territory swap must be reached between the two nations, “forget about me.” He added that while he and Putin agreed on many things during their discussion, “it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done.”
“I would also say the European Nations, they have to get involved a little bit,” Trump told Hannity. “And if they’d like, I’d be at that next meeting. They’re going to set up a meeting now … not that I want to be there, but I want to make sure it gets done.”
Earlier in the day, the president said he would not act as a negotiator for Kyiv, which was not represented at the summit.
In their response Saturday, the EU leaders signaled they were ready to defend Ukraine, threatening to “uphold the pressure” on Moscow.
“Our support to Ukraine will continue. We are determined to do more to keep Ukraine strong in order to achieve an end to the fighting and a just and lasting peace,” the coalition wrote. “As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace.”
“Ukraine can count on our unwavering solidarity as we work towards a peace that safeguards Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests,” the leaders added.
The coalition includes French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
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