OAN Staff Blake Wolf
11:22 AM – Wednesday, August 13, 2025
President Donald Trump held virtual meetings with leaders of NATO member states, as well as with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Prior to the meeting, President Trump released an optimistic message in a Truth Social post, writing: “Will be speaking to European Leaders in a short while. They are great people who want to see a deal done.”
Throughout the meeting, European leaders reportedly emphasized that President Trump must not negotiate away Ukrainian territory after Trump stated that a peace deal may include “land swaps.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky has met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin to prepare for the virtual meeting with Trump. The German Chancellor told reporters that European leaders were attempting to “set the agenda” beforehand.
“U.S. President Trump will start discussions with President Putin in Alaska about bringing the war to an end, and important decisions could be reached,” Merz stated alongside Zelensky.
“We as Europeans are doing everything we can to help set the agenda for that meeting. We’re hoping that Donald Trump has success in that meeting in Anchorage,” he continued. “In Alaska, security interests of Europe and Ukraine must be protected. That is part of what we discussed with President Trump. We were together on the conditions of this meeting and the goals of this meeting on Friday.”
Merz also went on to explain that Ukrainian territory seized by Russia throughout the war can not be negotiated away, as “the sovereignty of Ukraine has to be respected.”
“We want to make sure that the right chronology happens: that there is a ceasefire and that there is an agreement that is discussed after that. A legal recognition of Russian ownership of this territory cannot happen. There have to be robust security guarantees. The sovereignty of Ukraine has to be respected. Negotiations have to be part of a larger transatlantic strategy, and has to be part of necessary pressure on Russia,” he stated.
“If there is no movement on the Russian side, we and the U.S. have to put more pressure on Russia. President Trump knows this position and largely agrees with it, and we had a good conversation with each other,” Merz added.
However, Zelensky took a more aggressive approach, arguing there’s a good chance that “Putin is bluffing.”
“Putin doesn’t want peace. He wants to occupy our country, and we understand it. Putin cannot fool us. We need to pressure him. Sanctions not only from the U.S., but from the European Union. Together our union of partners can really, really stop Putin’s war,” he stated.
Zelensky also said that he discussed Ukraine’s strategic priorities with President Trump ahead of his Friday meeting with Putin.
“We really hope that the immediate ceasefire will be one main issue during this meeting,” Zelensky stated. “President Trump was talking about it. Then he suggested that he will contact me immediately after his Alaska meeting. He will tell me about all results, if there are any results, and then we will discuss our steps together.”
On Tuesday, The Ukrainian leader revealed that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from 30% of the Donetsk region it controls as part of a ceasefire deal, which Zelensky has outright rejected while vowing that Ukraine will not give up any territory it controls for future security purposes.
“Any issue which deals with the territorial integrity of Ukraine cannot be discussed just like that, without looking at our constitution and the will of our people,” Zelensky stated. “As to our principles, as to our territorial integrity, in the end, will be decided on the level of leaders. Without Ukraine [at the negotiating table], it’s impossible to achieve.”
In Washington, D.C., White House secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized on Tuesday that the meeting was essentially a “listening exercise for the president.”
“Only one party that’s involved in this war is going to be present, and so this is for the president to go and to get, again, a more firm and better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end,” Leavitt stated.
President Trump added that he hopes the meeting with Putin will be “constructive,” while promising that there will be “very severe consequences” against Russia if they are unable to reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine during Friday’s meeting.
On the flip side, Russia maintains that its key demands for ending the war in Ukraine have not changed. Moscow is seeking a full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces in key regions, which includes territorial concessions, recognition of past annexations, and assurances that Ukraine will not be admitted into NATO.
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