President Trump is scheduled to meet President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Friday in Alaska, to discuss a path to ending the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine three and a half years ago. Before he does, his European allies would like to have a word.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany will convene a Ukraine-themed video call on Wednesday that is set to include Mr. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and several of Mr. Trump’s favorite European leaders, like Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy. Mr. Zelensky will be in Berlin for the meeting, his office said on Wednesday, and is expected to later brief reporters with Mr. Merz.
A wide range of public statements from Mr. Merz and others suggest the leaders will implore Mr. Trump not to cut a peace deal with Mr. Putin — behind the backs of Mr. Zelensky or his European allies. Mr. Zelensky has not been invited to Alaska.
The European leaders will likely stress that any discussions of terms for ending the war must start with a full cease-fire. They also believe that Europe’s approval is essential for any plans to enforce a truce with European troops.
It will be the latest attempt by Mr. Merz and his European counterparts to head off Mr. Trump’s unilateral impulses and to keep him from falling under Mr. Putin’s sway — though Mr. Merz and his allies almost never frame it that way.
Instead, the center-right chancellor and fellow leaders, like President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, regularly portray themselves as closely aligned with Mr. Trump on Ukraine, even as they publicly and privately encourage him to do more to support Kyiv.
“We cannot accept that territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the heads of Europeans, over the heads of Ukrainians,” Mr. Merz said in a television interview on Sunday. “I assume that the American government sees it the same way. That is why there is this close coordination.”
Mr. Merz has staked much of his early term on rebuilding Germany’s military and reclaiming its leadership position for Europe and the world, with a firm gaze toward Russia. He has courted Mr. Trump aggressively since taking office in early May.
He has relentlessly pitched Mr. Trump on the idea that by intervening boldly and decisively on the side of Ukraine against Russia, the United States could force Mr. Putin into a cease-fire and serious talks on ending the war. It has been the chancellor’s primary request of the president, overwhelming other major issues, like Mr. Trump’s push to impose new tariffs on Europe.
Mr. Trump seemed receptive, to varying degrees, particularly as he grew frustrated in recent months with Mr. Putin’s continued bombardments of Ukraine. He agreed to sell American weapons to Germany and others, to then be supplied to Kyiv, and he has threatened harsh economic penalties on Moscow if the war continues.
But then, last week, after overtures from Mr. Putin, Mr. Trump shifted again. He hastily scheduled the Alaska meeting. This week, he told reporters he wanted to see what Mr. Putin had on his mind, and whether he could broker “a deal” on the war, including swaps of land currently held by Ukraine and Russia.
Mr. Merz and his allies fear what that discussion could bring. So they have stacked the video call with top Europeans who enjoy good relations with Mr. Trump, including the leaders of Poland and Finland and NATO’s secretary general, Mark Rutte.
European leaders refuse to entertain any talk of redrawing borders before Mr. Putin agrees to a cease-fire. They do not want to negotiate away Ukrainian land that Russian forces do not currently hold. German officials have been more publicly oblique on whether they could support a truce that cedes some parts of prewar Ukraine to Russia, though privately, they have sounded resigned to the possibility.
They also worry that peace on bad terms could encourage Mr. Putin to continue his push toward Western Europe, perhaps sending troops next to a neighbor like Lithuania, a member of NATO.
“It really is a concern that Putin might feel emboldened,” said Anna Sauerbrey, the foreign editor for Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper. “Not to go for Berlin, of course, but to cause some unrest in other Baltic countries, other European countries.”
Above all, Europeans fear that Mr. Putin could use the Alaska meeting to sell Mr. Trump on a peace deal that Mr. Zelensky would never accept, leading Mr. Trump to turn his ire on the Ukrainian leader.
Mr. Trump could then threaten to pull crucial American intelligence support for Ukraine on the battlefield, as his administration briefly did this spring.
Europe would continue to back Ukraine in that case, but its task would be more difficult. Mr. Merz and other leaders have acknowledged the need for American support. Ms. Sauerbrey said that reality puts European leaders in a “very weak position” with Mr. Trump.
“They can hope and pray” and continue to flatter him, she said. “But that’s pretty much all they have.”
Kim Barker contributed reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine.
Jim Tankersley is the Berlin bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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