The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced that the videoconference between the U.S. president and the EU leaders had concluded. According to her, the page of the conversation passed in a calm and businesslike spirit, the participants openly discussed the main issues on the agenda.
“Today we had a very good conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, the European leaders and Volodymyr Zelensky. We exchanged views regarding the bilateral summit that will take place in Alaska,” she said. Thus, it was reported that a number of practical approaches were discussed regarding the architecture of agreements, the expected agenda and matters of format.
At the same time, von der Leyen announced that the participants of the videoconference “strengthened their common understandings” regarding the situation in Ukraine. That is, an indication was given that positions were brought closer, and alignment on terms and assessments was increased. This may raise the political “readiness level” for rapid decision-making in subsequent dialogues.
The President of Ukraine came to Germany to take part in this videoconference and participated in the talk together with Chancellor Friedrich Merz. This participation is being assessed as once again showing Kyiv’s intention to be at the center of the process: the geography of the meeting — Berlin, the agenda — Alaska, the content — security around Ukraine and political solutions.
“We stated that at the next meetings Ukraine must also be at the negotiation table,” Merz said at the press conference held after the videoconference. This statement is actually interpreted as a demand to expand the format, keep the circle of participants open and provide Kyiv with a permanent place at the “main table” where decisions are made.
The picture is as follows: ahead of the bilateral summit in Alaska, at the “online” stage the partners exchanged signals, cleared the topics and tried to turn the political compass in one direction for the next steps. If the “common understandings” noted at the video talk turn into practical decisions, at the next meetings the necessary political environment for quick agreements may form.
In short, the videoconference is an important additional “rehearsal” on the road to Alaska: the sides tried to read the agenda in the same way, sought to increase harmony on the Ukraine issue, and most importantly — the requirement of Ukraine’s full participation in the next rounds was stated openly. Now the attention is toward the summit stage and the concrete steps there.
Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!
