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• Rishi Iyengar

August 19, 2025, 2:46 PM View Comments ()

The initial meetings are over. Now the meetings about the meetings have begun. 

Nearly three dozen leaders met virtually on Tuesday, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a delegation of European leaders met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss the outcome of the meetings in Washington and coordinate next steps. Those next steps could involve a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin—and/or a trilateral meeting that would see Trump also attend.

The call was convened by what has been dubbed the “coalition of the willing,” a group of 31 countries that are committed to defending Ukraine against Russia. The group is led by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, both of whom were among the seven European leaders backing Zelensky up in Washington on Monday.

According to a statement from Starmer’s office, the virtual meeting focused heavily on plans to provide “robust” U.S. and European security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any future peace deal with Russia, which could include “the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended.” They also “discussed how further pressure – including through sanctions – could be placed on Putin until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion.”

Starmer also relayed to the others on the coalition call his view of how the discussions that he, Zelensky, and other European leaders had with Trump in Washington on Monday went, describing them as having been “constructive” and adding that “it was clear there was a real sense of unity and shared goal of securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.” 

Here’s the readout from some other participants in Tuesday’s coalition call: 

European Council President António Costa hosted another call with the council’s members after the coalition of the willing meeting, writing on X that the European Union “firmly supports” Zelensky and Ukraine. “As a first step, Russia must immediately end the violence,” he added.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, another participant in the Washington meetings, simply wrote that the West was “united … to build peace and ensure the security of our nations and our peoples.”

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, representing NATO’s newest member state, described the “important discussions” from both of Tuesday’s virtual meetings. “History shows what risks happening when common frameworks are disregarded,” he added. “An aggressor must never be rewarded. On the contrary, we must ensure that it will not happen again.”

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal also attended both the coalition of the willing and the EU meetings, posting afterward on X that Europe “must keep maximum support to [Zelensky] and maximum pressure on Putin,” including through military aid, sanctions on Russia, and EU membership for Ukraine. “Estonia is ready to contribute with boots on the ground,” he added. 

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reported that the non-European members of the coalition of the willing, including Japan, Canada, New Zealand, and Turkey, had “assessed the outcomes of the Alaska meeting very realistically”—a reference to Trump’s Friday summit with Putin that preceded Zelensky’s trip to Washington. “We all confirmed the need for continued support for Ukraine in the war with Russia,” he added. 

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote in a post on X that Australia would continue to stand with Ukraine. “Australia welcomes ongoing efforts towards achieving a just and enduring peace, including yesterday’s discussions in Washington,” he added. 

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin released a lengthy and somewhat sterner statement on X following his attendance at the virtual meeting. “It was reiterated at today’s meetings that it will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory and that international borders must not be changed by force,” he wrote. “While the talks in Washington show promise, we must continue to exert pressure on Russia to agree to a ceasefire and engage seriously with negotiations on a just and lasting peace, including through the continued implementation of EU sanctions.” 

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic wrote that all the participants on the call “support ending the war as soon as possible, since it has claimed many lives.” He also said that ensuring Ukraine’s security and protection would be “contributing to the European and global security.”

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof echoed the widespread calls for increased sanctions pressure on Russia and security guarantees for Ukraine. “A meeting between President Zelensky and President Putin must now take place quickly,” he wrote. Putin will have to demonstrate that he is genuinely willing to pursue lasting peace, end Russian aggression, and stop the violence against the Ukrainian population.