European leaders will speak with Donald Trump on Monday to help the U.S. president “prepare” in plans with Vladimir Putin, which could be a key week for the stagnant Ukraine peace talks.
The Trump administration has been with the Russian president’s call for their first disclosure in nearly three months, a critical moment in establishing specific parameters to achieve a lasting solution to the war.
There have long been concerns that the U.S. president may reach an agreement with the Kremlin to ignore Ukraine's interests, while European leaders are also competing to influence Trump's thinking before the negotiations.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would join French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer since Friday, making his second appeal with Trump since Friday.
"We can only hope to make further progress," said Meers, who has been arguing with London and Paris about the pressure in Moscow. “My firm impression is that both Europeans and Americans are determined to work together, but now there are also purpose to ensure that this terrible war is over soon.”
During a series of diplomatic relations over the past 10 days, Putin has little position, refusing to comply with others' conditions and held a meeting in Turkey last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, despite their proposals for negotiations between the two sides.
Trump's team has been criticized for Putin despite the U.S. government's impatient urgency with Russia. Trump said Friday that he arranged a direct phone call with Putin because he always felt that "no me" was impossible. Trump is expected to speak with Zelenskyy after a conference call with the Kremlin.
Zelenskyy met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Rome on Sunday, the first time two men have met since the bombing at the White House in February. Zelenskyy called it a "good meeting" and said it included U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"We discussed the negotiations in Istanbul and the Russians sent a low-level delegation without decision-making power," Zelenskyy said. "I reiterate Ukraine's preparation for real diplomacy and stressed the importance of an unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible."
Rubio said his Russian rival Sergei Lavrov told him on Saturday that Moscow would prepare a document “outline their demands for a ceasefire which would lead to broader negotiations”.
"We don't want to be involved in this infinite conversation process, we have to make some progress, some progress, some progress, some progress," he said in an interview with CBS.
If an agreement is reached “in the next few days”, both parties express their willingness to make concessions, “then I think we can continue to be satisfied with participation.” "On the other hand, what we're not seeing is very productive, maybe we'll have different assessments," he said.
Kiev and its European allies are concerned that if the Trump administration gets rid of peace talks, it will also stop or reduce U.S. military support for Ukraine, handing over further battlefield advantages to Moscow.
Zelenskyy has been in close coordination with European leaders and convened with Trump on Friday. During a visit to Rome on Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was "critical" to try to push forward the peace process next week.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia weakened Ukraine's intentions before any peace talks, launching its largest drone strike on Ukraine over the weekend, launching 273 explosive drones and baits.
Ukrainian military intelligence agency Gur also warned on Sunday that Russia intends to conduct training on the evening of May 19 to launch the RS-24 "YARS" intercontinental ballistic missile.
The agency said the launch was intended to "terrorize Ukraine" and that the missile would be equipped with training warheads. It said the missile, with a range of 10,000 kilometers, will be launched from a site in the Russian Sverdlovsk region near the Ural Mountains.
Other reports: Barbara Moens of Brussels and Laura Pittel of Berlin