By Ilayda Cakirtekin
ISTANBUL (AA) - European capitals buzzed with diplomacy ahead of Friday’s historic summit in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, issuing statements and convening urgent meetings that exposed subtle differences in tone but shared a sense of unease: fear of being sidelined in Ukraine peace talks that could imperil the continent’s security.
All but Hungary backed a joint EU statement Tuesday welcoming Washington’s push to end the Russia-Ukraine war but insisting that any deal emerging from Alaska must safeguard Ukraine’s sovereignty and Europe’s security.
In a follow-up virtual session of the Coalition of the Willing on Wednesday co-chaired by Germany, France and the UK, leaders echoed support for US efforts while warning that “international borders must not be changed by force.”
They also pledged to remain active players in shaping any peace process.
From there, national leaders struck their own notes on what Alaska should and should not deliver.
- Loud voices from Coalition of the Willing
Countries such as France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Poland were the first to react to the meeting as active members of the Coalition of the Willing.
They each reiterated their “unwavering” support for Ukraine and its presence at the negotiation table while stressing the need to safeguard European security.
"It’s perfectly natural that the United States of America meets with Russia. It’s actually a good thing to pacify the environment. They also have many bilateral topics. But it is important that, when issues concerning Europe—our collective security—are addressed, there is coordination with us Europeans," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters following the virtual meeting.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer individually thanked Trump in a phone call “for his efforts in bringing Putin to the table in pursuit of a ceasefire to end the ongoing bloodshed” and expressed a readiness to work alongside the US for peace.
“Fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be safeguarded in Alaska,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, underlining that Europe wants Trump to “succeed” at Friday’s summit.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Trump-backed newly inaugurated Polish President Karol Nawrocki also participated in the virtual meeting following their joint statement last Saturday with the UK, France, Germany, Finland and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen which welcomed Trump’s efforts and called for active diplomacy.
Participating in the Coalition of the Willing meeting, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez only reiterated the need for Ukraine to be part of the decision regarding its future and voiced a firm commitment to peace and security.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot wrote on the US social media company X that it would be “unlikely” to achieve a ceasefire without the US’s efforts and called Trump’s initiatives “valuable.”
“But the US has every interest in involving the EU in the discussions, to strengthen the transatlantic partnership. Clearly, no lasting peace can be achieved without Ukraine being a direct party to negotiations that concern it,” he noted, urging the US not to “blur” the roles between “aggressor” and “victim.”
The prime ministers of the Netherlands, Portugal and Luxembourg also signaled a sense of “unity” and “determination” among European and US partners following the virtual meeting.
“Unity and determination -- this was the spirit of the coalition and of it with the USA in the meeting we had this afternoon. Together, we must achieve, as quickly as possible, a ceasefire and a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro wrote on X.
- Joint response from Nordic-Baltic 8
Eight Nordic and Baltic countries including Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a separate joint statement right after the announcement of the Alaska summit, welcoming Trump’s initiative.
“We stand ready to contribute to this work diplomatically while maintaining our substantial military and financial support to Ukraine,” they wrote, sharing the conviction that the solution must safeguard European and Ukrainian security interests.
Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, which also joined the Coalition of the Willing meeting, reaffirmed that Ukraine and Europe must have a seat in any talks concerning them.
“President Donald Trump is an experienced negotiator. The coordination of goodwill countries with the USA and Ukraine before the planned meeting was important. We were in agreement on Ukraine's territorial integrity,” Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Silina wrote on X.
- Unified European position faces splits
Although Europe draws a unified stance on the Alaska meeting and Ukraine, countries such as Hungary and Slovakia are signaling diverging positions.
As a fierce critic of Brussel’s decisions and the only state to avoid participating in the EU’s joint welcoming statement, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed his discontent with the bilateral meeting between Moscow and Washington, urging Europe to directly negotiate with Russia.
“Brusselian elites backed a lost cause and now Europe pays the price. While Moscow and Washington decide our fate, we’re left out in the cold,” Orban wrote on X.
Orban explained his refusal to back the joint EU statement, saying it set conditions for a meeting to which EU leaders were not invited, a situation he called “sad.”
He added that the only “sensible” course for the bloc would be to initiate an EU-Russia summit, mirroring the US-Russia meeting.
Slovakia did not comment on the upcoming Alaska summit individually, although the country is well-known for its rejection of supporting sanctions packages against Russia.
- Balkans participation
Balkan countries such as Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria were also present at Wednesday’s virtual session, as well as Central Europe’s Czech Republic.
“I appreciate the ongoing coordination with President Trump ahead of Friday's meeting in Alaska and welcome the fact that (US) Vice President JD Vance attended today's meeting of the Coalition of the Willing for the first time,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala wrote on X.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic also noted that the achieved peace must not humiliate the “victim” and reward the “aggressor” as it would have broader consequences for Europe.
“As the neighbor with the longest land border with Ukraine, the way peace is achieved is extremely important for Romania, as it is for the whole of Europe…This is why we need a peace which takes into account Ukraine's and Europe’s interests,” Romanian President Nicusor Dan also wrote on X.