France, Germany and Britain will meet on Sunday to help shape Ukraine’s position before President Zelenskyy holds high-stakes talks with Donald Trump in Washington.
The virtual summit, set for 1300 GMT, brings together French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who are seeking to reinforce Kyiv’s hand amid pressure from the U.S. to accept a peace deal with Moscow.
The European powers want security guarantees for Ukraine with U.S. involvement and are aiming to set up a trilateral summit involving Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, diplomatic sources said.
The move follows Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday, where the Russian leader reportedly offered to freeze the front lines in exchange for Kyiv ceding all of the Donetsk region. A source familiar with the discussions said Zelenskyy rejected the proposal.
"Stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war," Zelenskyy said on X, responding to Russia’s refusal to pause hostilities.
Trump, who reversed his earlier stance on demanding a ceasefire, has said Ukraine should “make a deal” because “Russia is a very big power, and they're not.”
Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 60 drones and one ballistic missile overnight; 40 of the drones were intercepted or jammed.
Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet Trump in Washington on Monday. European leaders may accompany him and are expected to offer strategic advice. Merz said he believed the meeting would be less confrontational than Zelenskyy’s previous Oval Office visit in February, which saw public rebukes from both Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Despite European unity, Merz noted that the U.S. still held the key to shifting Moscow’s position. "The American president has the power both militarily and via appropriate sanctions and tariffs to ensure that Russia moves more than it currently does," he told ZDF.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. It currently controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including much of Donetsk, which it partially occupied as early as 2014.
Former UK national security adviser Mark Lyall Grant called the Alaska summit a “clear win” for Putin, citing Trump’s retreat from demanding a ceasefire. Still, he said U.S. engagement in long-term security guarantees for Ukraine was “absolutely critical”.
Top European leaders will travel to Washington on Monday to join U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in critical talks aim...
France, Germany and Britain will meet on Sunday to help shape Ukraine’s position before President Zelenskyy holds high-stakes talks with Donald Trum...
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held phone conversations on Saturday with his Turkish and Hungarian counterparts, just hours after the U.S.–R...
At least eight people have been killed and four remain missing after a flash flood in northern China, state media reported on Sunday, as the East Asia...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 17th of August, covering the latest developments you need to k...
Top European leaders will travel to Washington on Monday to join U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in critical talks aimed at ending the war with Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held phone conversations on Saturday with his Turkish and Hungarian counterparts, just hours after the U.S.–Russia summit in Alaska ended without a breakthrough on Ukraine.
At least eight people have been killed and four remain missing after a flash flood in northern China, state media reported on Sunday, as the East Asian monsoon continues to trigger severe weather across the country.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 17th of August, covering the latest developments you need to know.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
A resumption of Iraq’s Kurdish oil exports is not expected in the near term, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, despite an announcement by Iraq’s federal government a day earlier stating that shipments would resume immediately.
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 56 kilometres east of Gorgan in northern Iran early Sunday morning, according to preliminary seismic data.
A deadly heatwave has claimed 1,180 lives in Spain since May, with elderly people most at risk, prompting calls for urgent social support.
Top European leaders will travel to Washington on Monday to join U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in critical talks aimed at ending the war with Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held phone conversations on Saturday with his Turkish and Hungarian counterparts, just hours after the U.S.–Russia summit in Alaska ended without a breakthrough on Ukraine.
At least eight people have been killed and four remain missing after a flash flood in northern China, state media reported on Sunday, as the East Asian monsoon continues to trigger severe weather across the country.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 17th of August, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Anti-government demonstrations in Serbia intensified on Saturday (August 16), as police deployed teargas and crowd-control vehicles to disperse protesters in Belgrade.
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