Key Points

German, French, and British leaders will decide Sunday whether to attend Trump's meeting with Zelensky in the US. The potential trip depends on receiving formal invitations from Washington. Trump has floated a controversial peace deal involving Ukrainian territorial concessions. The discussions follow his three-hour Alaska summit with Putin focused on ending the Ukraine conflict.

Key Points: Merz Macron Starmer to Decide on US Trip for Trump Zelensky Talks

  • European leaders seek to avoid publicity-focused meeting with Trump
  • No official US invitations extended yet for August 18 talks
  • Trump proposes Ukraine cedes Donbass for ceasefire and security guarantees
  • Putin-Trump Alaska summit focused on Ukraine conflict resolution
3 min read

German, French, UK leaders yet to take decision on their trip to US for meeting with Zelensky

German, French, and UK leaders to coordinate Sunday on attending Trump-Zelensky meeting amid Ukraine peace deal discussions.

"Ukraine and Russia should go straight to agreeing on a final peace deal – Donald Trump"

Berlin, Aug 17

The governments of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer plan to decide on Sunday whether their leaders would be travelling to the US for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, media reported.

According to Germany's Bild daily, the governments of Merz, Starmer and Macron intend on Sunday to coordinate their actions and jointly decide whether who would exactly be travelling to the US on August 18 from Trump's meeting with Zelensky, Russian news agency Tass reported.

However, such a decision requires an official invitation on behalf of the US, according to Bild.

The daily reported that US President Trump offered Zelensky to invite European politicians to the US, however, there were no official invitations extended as of yet.

Bild added that European leaders seek to avoid a meeting intended solely for publicity.

A US daily reported earlier citing the Elysee Palace that the 'coalition of the willing' will convene a meeting via video link on Sunday.

Starmer, Merz, and Macron, who earlier announced that the members of the coalition will hold a conversation soon without disclosing the date, will get together for an online conversation at 3:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. GMT) on Sunday, Tass reported.

The three leaders will discuss "next steps as part of the discussion on peace in Ukraine".

Another US newspaper reported earlier, citing sources, that following his meeting with Putin, the US leader proposed negotiating a peace deal under which Ukraine would give up the rest of the Donbass region to Russia, including areas not liberated by Russian troops, in a phone call with European leaders.

A ceasefire in the rest of Ukraine at present-day battlefronts and security guarantees, both for Kyiv and Europe, would be offered in return.

On Friday, Putin and Trump met at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Alaska.

Their talks lasted nearly three hours, including a one-on-one conversation in the American leader's limousine en route to the main negotiation venue, as well as a subsequent small-group discussion involving three participants on either side.

The Russian delegation included Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while the American side was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff.

In a statement to the media following the talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin said they mostly focused on resolving the Ukraine conflict.

Trump described his summit with Putin as "very productive".

Later, he called Zelensky, EU leaders, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

After the summit and the phone calls, Trump said that Ukraine and Russia should go straight to agreeing on a final peace deal as he dropped his demand for a ceasefire.

Trump and Zelensky are due to have a meeting in the White House on Monday.

The US leader said that if talks with Zelensky are a success, another meeting with Putin will be scheduled.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priyanka N
As an Indian, I'm more concerned about how this affects global wheat prices and our economy. Ukraine war has already caused enough inflation here. Hope they resolve it soon for everyone's sake.
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Aman W
Trump's diplomacy style is so unpredictable! Reminds me of how our foreign policy has to be flexible with changing global scenarios. But at least our leaders maintain dignity in international relations.
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Shreya B
Interesting to see how European leaders are coordinating. India has maintained balanced relations with both Russia and West - maybe they should consult our diplomats for some tips! 😊
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Varun X
While the world focuses on Ukraine, I hope our government is watching carefully. Any peace deal there could affect our defense purchases from Russia. Strategic autonomy is key for India!
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Nisha Z
Respectfully disagree with some comments here. India's non-alignment policy is different from European coalition politics. We shouldn't compare apples and oranges in international relations.
K
Karthik V
The real question is - how will this impact oil prices? Our petrol rates are already too high. Hope whatever deal they make brings stability to global markets.

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