The phone calls, held with various combinations of European and EU leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump, came in the runup to a summit between the American president and Putin in Alaska on Friday.
“So far, all the talks that have been held with Putin over the past three and a half years have been accompanied by an even tougher military response each time,” Merz said. “This time it has to be different.”
One person familiar with the virtual meeting sounded a note of caution. While “overall there was a positive atmosphere,” they told POLITICO, “Trump, as always, talked a lot about what he would do, but in a way that no one could say what exactly he was going to do.”
Security guarantees
Zelenskyy traveled to Berlin on Wednesday to join for the three rounds of virtual talks arranged by Merz and aimed at persuading Trump to defend the interests of Ukraine and Europe.
Merz said European leaders presented Trump with five core stances.
First, Ukraine must have a seat at the table in future negotiations. Second, peace negotiations can only take place after a ceasefire is reached. Third, Ukraine will only be prepared to negotiate on territorial issues if the so-called “contact line” is the starting point, while ruling out legal recognition of Russia’s claim on Ukrainian territory. Fourth, any deal must include robust security guarantees for Ukraine.