European Union (EU) leaders arrived in Washington today after cautiously welcoming US President Donald Trump's latest effort to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
They will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a high-stakes meeting with Trump. Europe has expressed its determination to support Ukraine and maintain its influence over the outcome of the conflict after Friday's peace talks in Alaska.
Europe wants "ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity," eight European officials said in a joint statement on Saturday. "The next step must now be further talks, including President Zelenskyy."
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage for three-hour peace talks. The two leaders described their meeting as "productive," without providing specific details at their press conference.
Trump has pushed to end the 3.5-year war that has left 1 million killed and wounded since his 2024 presidential campaign. He wants to end a conflict that has crippled the Russian and Ukrainian economies, disrupted much-needed energy supplies, and strained EU-US ties.
Following the talks, West Texas Intermediate oil opened the week at $62.59 per barrel, nearly 1% lower compared to Friday’s closing price, before fully retracing the loss.
Putin Agrees To Ukraine Security Guarantee
During the post-meeting press conference in Anchorage, Putin didn't signal any willingness to end the war. He reiterated his point that the "root causes" of the invasion must be eliminated, pointing to NATO's eastward expansion.
Trump noted at the press conference that "there's no deal until there's a deal." Putin added that he hoped that Europe would accept the US-Russian talks as "constructive" and "not try to disrupt the emerging progress."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday on ABC that "both sides" were going to have to make concessions to end the conflict.
While Trump and Putin negotiated, Russia continued its bombardments against civilian infrastructure in eastern Ukraine. In response, Ukraine used drones to strike Russian territory.
Two days after the summit, Special US envoy Steve Witkoff said that Putin agreed to allow the US and Europe to offer Ukraine a security guarantee. It would resemble NATO's collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the war.
"We were able to win the following concession: That the US could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff said on Sunday on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU will move forward next month with its 19th sanctions package against Russia if the Kremlin refuses to halt its war. She made her comments during a press conference with Zelenskyy in Brussels on Sunday.
Trump Urges Ukraine To Make A Deal
During the talks in Anchorage, Trump said that the US could give security guarantees to Ukraine. The two leaders discussed the prospects of Ukraine ceding territory in exchange for security guarantees, a position Europe opposes.
"It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory," the EU leaders said in their joint statement on Saturday. "International borders must not be changed by force."
On Saturday, Trump urged Ukraine to make a deal to end the war with Russia because “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not.” Trump told Zelenskyy that Putin had offered to freeze most front lines if Kyiv ceded all of Donbas, the industrial region that is one of Moscow’s primary targets.
Zelenskyy has firmly opposed territorial concessions, arguing that they would violate Ukraine's constitution and territorial integrity.
Europeans Feel Ukraine Loser In Anchorage Talks
European diplomats and officials criticized Trump's efforts. They said Ukraine has received "nothing" out of the talks.
Wolfgang Ischinger, former head of the Munich Security Conference, wrote on X: "1:0 for Putin – no new sanctions. For the Ukrainians: nothing. For Europe: extremely disappointing."
Kaja Kallas, the EU High Commissioner for Foreign and Security Policy, noted that "the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention to end the war anytime soon."
Russia "faces a very angry UK and Europe, who want to break Putin's hold on power, and force a change in government," Theodore Karasik, a Non-Resident Fellow, Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC, told European Capital Insights. "Russia has prepared for this."
Russian Officials Applaud Trump's Peace Efforts
Russian officials, in contrast to their European counterparts, welcomed the peace talks.
Dmitri Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, wrote on Telegram that the summit resumed a "full-fledged mechanism for meetings…without threats or ultimatums." Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova pointed to "the red carpet that greeted the Russian president in the US."
"Putin was brought out of the cold in Alaska," Lutsevych said. "Rather than limiting space to wage war in Europe, Trump offered him the opposite – a delay in imposing secondary sanctions on his oil export customers."
Trump said after the summit in an interview with Fox News that he would hold off imposing sanctions on China for buying large amounts of Russian oil. Trump didn't discuss India, which is subject to a 50% tariff on US imports, including a 25% penalty for imports from Russia.
Putin Faces A Difficult Economic Situation
Putin, though, faces an increasingly difficult situation – the war has hurt the country's economy. Russia has started to struggle with the weight of international sanctions and the human and financial costs of the war.
The economy has slowed this year, compared to last. Russia’s gross domestic product expanded by 1.9% in April of 2024, following a 1.1% rise the previous month. It is significantly down from the start of the year.
Inflation remains persistently high at 8.8% July and 9.9% in June. It has eased from 10.3% in March, according to data from Trading Economics.
Russia will spend 8% of its gross domestic product ($172 billion) on military and national needs in 2025, according to Alexandra Prokopenko, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"The Russian economy is slogging along, but has several structural problems that the government is trying to deal with now," Karasik said. "Russia will be ‘ok' for the next few years, but the war can't go on indefinitely."
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