Europe’s top leaders today set out a common position following the August 15 meeting in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a joint statement, also conveyed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the European heads of state and government reaffirmed their backing for Kyiv, warned Moscow that they will not accept changes to borders by force, and demanded solid security guarantees for Ukraine.
Leaders Emmanuel Macron, Giorgia Meloni, Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer, Alexander Stubb, Donald Tusk, António Costa, and Ursula von der Leyen cautiously welcomed Trump’s steps to open a channel for dialogue. They stressed that the shared objective must be “a just and lasting peace,” based on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “There is no deal until there is a deal,” they recalled, citing the U.S. president’s words, while making it clear that talks cannot proceed behind Kyiv’s back.
In this regard, European leaders backed the proposal to move toward a trilateral summit with Trump and Zelenskyy under the European umbrella. They consider it essential for Ukraine to secure firm security guarantees, including its right to cooperate militarily with third countries and to keep the door open to membership in the European Union and NATO. “Russia cannot have a veto over Ukraine’s future,” they stated.
The statement also set a tone of firmness toward Moscow: as long as hostilities continue, the EU is committed to strengthening sanctions and increasing pressure on Russia’s war economy. At the same time, they stressed that financial and military support for Kyiv will not diminish, but rather expand, with the goal of strengthening its defensive capacity and ensuring that negotiations do not start from a position of weakness.
Beyond the immediate context, the declaration reflects European leaders’ determination to assume a central role in shaping the continent’s future security architecture. The war in Ukraine, they warned, is not only an assault on a sovereign state but also a threat to Europe’s strategic balance as a whole. For this reason, they reiterated their “unwavering solidarity” with Kyiv and their determination to achieve a peace that bolsters both regional stability and Europe’s vital security interests.
