European leaders expressed cautious relief following their videoconference with Donald Trump, organized on Wednesday, August 13, at the initiative of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Europeans sought to decipher the intentions of the US president ahead of his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska on Friday, August 15, and to persuade him not to compromise European security.

Have these efforts paid off? The European participants answered in the affirmative. Merz said he had "hope that something is moving." Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, said he believes there is a "viable chance" of achieving a ceasefire, echoing Zelensky's view. French President Emmanuel Macron concluded from discussions with Trump that "what the United States wants is to obtain a ceasefire during this meeting in Alaska (...) as well as new prisoner exchanges and the liberation of children."

Securing Putin's swift agreement to a ceasefire will therefore be Trump's objective on Friday in Anchorage, according to European officials. While Putin wants to maintain or even expand his positions in eastern Ukraine, "territorial" questions will reportedly not be raised at the summit, even though Trump had suggested otherwise two days earlier. Macron has stressed that there is no serious plan for territorial transactions and that Donald Trump has made it very clear that "the question of Ukrainian territory can and will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president." A trilateral meeting, including Zelensky, could take place in the coming days, depending on the outcome of Friday's summit.

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