European leaders said on Wednesday that they had hammered out a strategy with President Trump for his scheduled meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Friday in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, including an insistence that any peace plan must start with a cease-fire and not be negotiated without Ukraine at the table.
The discussions came in a video call arranged by Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany. It included Mr. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and several other European leaders, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy. Mr. Zelensky traveled to Berlin for the meeting and briefed reporters afterward with Mr. Merz.
“We had a truly exceptionally constructive and good conversation” with the president, Mr. Merz told reporters in brief remarks. “There is hope for movement, there is hope for peace in Ukraine,” he added.
An official with direct knowledge of the exchange, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Mr. Trump had listened to the Europeans’ concerns and was receptive. The president expressed heavy distrust of Mr. Putin and that he recognized that the meeting itself was already a significant concession to the Russian president, who has been heavily criticized internationally for invading Ukraine.
The president said he would push for a cease-fire but did not expect to get one, the official added.
Both Mr. Merz and Mr. Zelensky told reporters that Mr. Trump had agreed to five principles for the talks with Mr. Putin. They include keeping Ukraine “at the table” for follow-up meetings on the war and refusing to discuss peace terms, like swaps of land between Russia and Ukraine, before a cease-fire is put in place.
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The post As Trump Prepares to Talk to Putin, European Allies Bend His Ear appeared first on New York Times.
