EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has hinted at a “common ground” on Ukraine following multiple calls on Wednesday, with a ceasefire presumably agreed as a precondition for further talks.
“Today Europe, the US, and NATO have strengthened the common ground for Ukraine. We will remain in close coordination. Nobody wants peace more than us, a just and lasting peace,” von der Leyen wrote in an X update, describing the call as “very good.”
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The statement followed three back-to-back calls between Western leaders – including US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance – aimed at coordinating Western positions and guaranteeing Kyiv’s interests amid rumors that Kyiv would be forced to cede land to Moscow during Trump’s Friday meeting in Alaska with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The calls concluded at around 5:30 p.m. Kyiv time.
Multiple leaders have issued statements following Wednesday’s calls.
French President Emmanuel Macron said only Kyiv has the right to negotiate its territorial integrity, echoing earlier remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Territorial questions concerning Ukraine can be, and will be, negotiated only by the Ukrainian president,” Macron told reporters after a call with Trump, as per AFP.
Achieving a ceasefire before any deal is reached appears to be the common ground the West has established through the call.
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“The American will is to obtain a ceasefire,” Macron said. “The exchange with President Trump allowed him to declare his intentions for the meeting on Aug. 15 and allowed us to very clearly explain our expectations.”
The same positions are highlighted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after the calls, who also calls for Kyiv’s inclusion in upcoming talks.
“We made it clear that Ukraine must be at the table at the next meeting. We want things to go in the right sequence: We want a ceasefire at the very beginning, and then a framework agreement must be drawn up,” Merz said.
But Merz did not rule out the possibility that Kyiv might be made to cede land – but only if there is “no violent changes to the border.”
“If Ukraine is prepared to talk about territorial negotiations, then we need to make sure that there are no violent changes to the border,” Merz said alongside Zelensky, as per CNN.
On territorial concessions, Zelensky suggested that there is no point in discussing that if Kyiv is not included in the talks, meanwhile rejecting suggestions that it might cede Donbas to Russia.
“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... As to our principles, as to our territorial integrity, in the end, will be decided on the level of leaders. Without Ukraine (at the table), it’s impossible to achieve,” Zelensky said.
“My position is not changing,” he added.
Merz likened Wednesday calls to “groundwork” ahead of Friday’s calls.
“We Europeans are therefore doing everything we can in order to lay the groundwork to make sure that this meeting goes the right way,” Merz said.
“We want President Trump to have success on Friday in Anchorage,” Merz added.
Merz also called for “robust” guarantees for Kyiv – an idea that Zelensky later reiterated.
“We need robust security guarantees for Kyiv and there need to be Ukrainian forces there in order to defend the sovereignty of the country, and they also need to be able to depend on Western aid for that,” Merz said.
“There should be a ceasefire first, then security guarantees – real security guarantees,” Zelensky said, adding that more sanctions should be imposed on Moscow if it fails to agree on a ceasefire in Alaska.
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