Trump Agrees to Meet With European Leaders Ahead of Summit with Putin

United States President Donald Trump has finally agreed to host a meeting with several European leaders before he heads to Alaska for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

European leaders have been attempting to convince Trump to hold a meeting with them for months, which comes during a time where the American president has forgone traditional negotiations and resorted to private calls with Putin. Due to his actions, European countries – which had always been included into talks in the past – were phased out of the negotiation process, prompting them to try and force their way in.

Now, Trump has finally agreed to meet virtually with the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Finland, Poland, the EU, and the UK, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The move comes just before his summit in Alaska with Russian President Putin, which was decided upon several days ago. Trump and Putin will meet in-person at a US Military base in Anchorage, where they will discuss the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War and the next steps that should be taken to avoid further escalation.

Additionally, Trump is widely expected to try and cut a deal with Putin to end the war, which could likely include several details that benefit the US or do the opposite for the EU. During his term so far, Trump has taken every possible opportunity to try and grow the US economy at the expense of various others, shown by the reciprocal tariffs implemented last week.

Due to this, European leaders are desperate to meet with Trump and urge him to avoid such a situation. If Trump were to agree on a deal with Putin in place of Ukraine, it could provide Russia with several benefits, which could include allowing them to maintain control over the land they have already taken– a huge loss for Ukraine.

They have acknowledged, though, that their words are unlikely to have a massive impact on the decisions Trump will make during the summit with Putin, but they are hoping to limit the amount of damage that the negotiations may do. The Europeans have also added that an agreement that benefits Russia could give Putin a greater sense of confidence, possibly motivating him to attack other eastern European countries in the future.

However, whether Trump can actually broker a deal is still in question. After initially showing a strong belief over his ability to persuade Putin, that strength slowly began to fade following continued Russian attacks on Ukraine. Then, in a recent deal, Trump agreed to allow several European countries to purchase over $1 billion in American-made weapons for Ukraine, showing a shift in his previously pro-Russian stance.

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Image credit to Al Jazeera