Zelensky and EU try to avoid a Washington-Moscow deal that would harm Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders will speak Wednesday with Donald Trump ahead of his meeting with Vladimir Putin.

On Monday, German Chancellor Friedich Merz invited the leaders of European countries and Ukraine, NATO and of the European Union, as well as Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, to talks by videoconference on Wednesday.

Organized by "thematic groups," they will focus on "preparations for possible peace negotiations," issues "related to territorial claims and security guarantees," as well as possible "further actions" to "exert pressure on Russia," German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement, picked up by AFP.

On the other hand, the French presidency specified that this initiative had been jointly agreed between the German chancellor, Emmanuel Macron and the British prime minister, Keir Starmer.

At the European level, the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland and Finland will participate in the meeting.

A first meeting without the United States

According to the dailyBild, Zelensky, the Europeans and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will first meet without the Americans, to whom they will then communicate the results of their consultations.

The EU had already urgently gathered its foreign ministers on Monday to try to prevent a deal between Washington and Moscow that would hurt Ukraine, after Trump announced Friday that the Alaska summit will address a possible deal providing for "territorial swaps" to end the conflict.

"Decisions cannot be made against us, decisions cannot be made without Ukraine. It would be a decision against peace. They will achieve nothing," Zelensky warned on Saturday on social media networks. "Ukrainians will not hand over their land to the occupier."

Separately, Donald Trump said Monday that he expects a "constructive" meeting with his Russian counterpart, while expressing displeasure over the Ukrainian refusal to cede territory to Moscow.

Any agreement "is about a security issue for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe"

Over the weekend, the Europeans stepped up their contacts and have been striving to form a united front in support of Ukraine.

For her part, the head of European Union diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, assured on Sunday that "any agreement between the United States and Russia must include Ukraine and the EU, as this is a security issue for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe."

At the moment, Zelenskiy's presence is not planned for the Alaska summit, although it remains "possible," according to the U.S. ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker.