European leaders that make up the ‘coalition of the willing’ will hold a conference call on Sunday ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with Donald Trump next week.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz will host the meeting on Sunday afternoon, as the coalition seeks to unite countries in support of a peace deal in Ukraine.
It comes ahead of President Zelensky’s visit to Washington DC on Monday, where he will meet with the US president for the next stage of talks.
The one-on-one in the Oval Office could pave the way for a three-way meeting alongside Russian leader Mr Putin, the US president has said.
The key topic on Sunday’s agenda for the meeting of the coalition of the willing, will be securing a concrete commitment from President Trump on guaranteed security that will serve as a strong safeguard in any Russia-Ukraine peacekeeping arrangement.
They will also discuss how to bring Zelensky into the fold after the Ukrainian president was sidelined from Trump and Putin’s meeting on Friday.
European leaders are in agreement that Zelensky must play a greater role in future talks and that peace cannot be achieved without him.
The coalition of the willing, made up of 30-plus nations, is prepared to deter Russian aggression by putting troops on the ground in Ukraine once the war is over.
Sunday’s meeting, which is expected to take place at approximately 2pm UK time, comes on the heels of Mr Trump’s summit in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The US leader, however, insisted “some great progress” was made, with “many points” agreed and “very few” remaining.
Several news outlets have cited sources which claimed that during the negotiations Mr Putin demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war.
In exchange he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops.
Other outlets reported that Mr Trump is inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelensky about it on Monday when they meet in the Oval Office.
After the Alaska summit, the US president told Fox News it was now up to the Ukrainian to “make a deal” to end the war.
Sir Keir commended Mr Trump’s “pursuit of an end to the killing” following a phone call with the US president, Mr Zelensky and Nato allies on Saturday morning.
But he insisted Ukraine’s leader must not be excluded from future talks to broker a peace in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister and European leaders appeared increasingly confident that Mr Trump will offer a “security guarantee” of air support to back up allied troops on the ground in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister welcomed “the openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal”.
“This is important progress and will be crucial in deterring Putin from coming back for more,” he added.
But Mr Trump also appeared to have a change of heart on what he wants to achieve from the talks, indicating that he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president said: “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up.”
Mr Putin described the meeting as “timely” and “useful” after leaving Alaska.
I received a report from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. The front, the defense of positions, and up-to-date information on the intentions and movements of the Russian army. We are defending our positions along the entire front line, and for the second day in a row, we have…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2025
Experts have warned the face-to-face summit has risked legitimising the Russian leader, after he has been made a pariah by the international community for years.
Dr Neil Melvin, director of international security at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said: “Vladimir Putin came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war.
“He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished.”
Ukraine’s president Mr Zelensky warned Russia may ramp up its strikes against his country in the coming days “in order to create more favourable political circumstances for talks with global actors”.
Kyiv’s troops are “defending our positions along the entire front line”, he added on social media site X.
Mr Zelensky had earlier insisted a ceasefire must include an end to fighting on land, in the sea and the air, as well as the return of all prisoners of war and captured civilians, including children.
Sanctions on Moscow “should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war”, Mr Zelensky added.
