London - Saba:
European leaders expressed their support last night for US President Donald Trump's efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine, ahead of Trump's upcoming meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska.
The British government's website published a joint statement by French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
The statement read: "We commend President (Donald) Trump's work to achieve just and lasting peace and security for Ukraine."
According to the statement, the European leaders expressed their "readiness to provide diplomatic support to Trump, provide significant military and financial support to Kyiv as part of the so-called 'coalition of the willing,' and impose sanctions on Russia."
The statement added: "We agree that a diplomatic solution must protect the vital security interests of Ukraine and Europe, and that serious negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or de-escalation of hostilities."
The Kremlin and the White House previously announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, would meet in Alaska on August 15.
Yuri Ushakov, aide to the Russian president, stated on Saturday, "Russia and the United States are close neighbors, and it seems entirely logical for our delegation to cross the Bering Strait by air and for such an important and highly anticipated summit between the leaders of the two countries to be held in Alaska."
He added, "The two presidents will undoubtedly focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement to the Ukrainian crisis."
In a related development, CBS News quoted a White House official as saying, "It is still possible that Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in some way in the Putin-Trump meeting."
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