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New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Washington on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for fresh talks with US President Donald Trump, just days after Trump’s high-profile meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Ahead of the Washington visit, Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hosted the France-led “Coalition of the Willing” virtual meeting on Sunday, bringing together European allies to coordinate their response following the Trump-Putin dialogue. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also joined the discussion and welcomed Trump’s efforts.
According to Reuters, Starmer said the US President had “brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.” He reaffirmed Europe’s “unwavering” support for Kyiv, adding, “While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelensky.” He further stressed that Putin must halt “his barbaric assault” and vowed, “We will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions, which have already had a punishing impact on the Russian economy and its people.”
On Saturday, a joint statement from Macron, Merz, Starmer and other European Union leaders welcomed Trump’s direct engagement with Putin, though it ended without a ceasefire agreement. “As President Trump said ‘there’s no deal until there’s a deal’. As envisioned by President Trump, the next step must now be further talks including President Zelensky, whom he will meet soon,” the statement said. It emphasised that “The Coalition of the Willing is ready to play an active role.”
The joint declaration also underlined that “No limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries. Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to EU and NATO. It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force.”
The push for unity came amid media reports suggesting Putin asked Trump to secure Ukraine’s withdrawal from the Donbas region in exchange for freezing the conflict. However, Zelensky has firmly ruled out territorial concessions or any “land swap” arrangement.
