European leaders hope for “new progress” in ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, as Washington prepares high-stakes talks with Moscow.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Sunday that he, along with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, will hold another conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of the latter’s scheduled call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
“I’ve spoken with [U.S. Secretary of State] Marco Rubio about tomorrow’s phone call. We [the heads of state and government of France, the United Kingdom, and Germany] have agreed to speak again with the American president in preparation for this dialogue,” Merz said, according to a statement released by his office.
German government sources confirmed that the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, had also been expected to join the call but ultimately will not participate due to Poland’s presidential elections taking place on Sunday.
“We can only hope that new progress will be made. My firm impression is that both Europeans and Americans are determined to work together—now with a clear purpose—to ensure that this terrible war ends soon,” Merz added.
The German chancellor emphasized that recent days have brought “small steps forward—small, but steps nonetheless.”
“The warring parties are speaking to one another, and a prisoner exchange has been agreed. I sincerely hope that we will succeed,” he stated.
President Trump announced on Saturday that he will speak with President Putin, followed by a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an effort to end the “bloodshed” resulting from the war Russia launched in Ukraine over three years ago.
Trump also mentioned plans to consult “several NATO leaders” afterward, though he did not name them.
Merz, Starmer, Macron, and Tusk had already spoken with Trump—alongside Zelensky—last Friday from Albania, on the same day that Ukrainian and Russian representatives were negotiating in Istanbul. However, Russia refused to agree to an unconditional ceasefire.
The five leaders continue to press—so far without success—for Trump to pressure Putin into declaring a ceasefire. Otherwise, they argue, the Kremlin should face new sanctions, a measure the U.S. president has so far resisted.
They had previously spoken with Trump from Kyiv on May 10 with the same goal. At that time, they claimed Trump supported a 30-day ceasefire, although the U.S. president did not publicly confirm this and later declined to criticize Putin for skipping the Istanbul meeting with Zelensky.
Ukrainian President Zelensky, for his part, stated on Saturday that his Russian counterpart “is afraid of a bilateral negotiation,” referencing Putin’s absence from the anticipated summit in Turkey.
“We were truly expecting Putin to show up, but he didn’t. We believe he’s afraid of direct bilateral talks,” Zelensky said in his nightly address.
The Ukrainian leader emphasized that “last week presented a real opportunity to make a significant step toward ending the war—toward a ceasefire—if there had been a high-level meeting between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey.”
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