European leaders have come out in support of Ukraine after US President Donald Trump announced a potential summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Budapest.
European leaders have backed the proposal by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday to establish a ceasefire in Ukraine along the current line of fighting.
However, Trump’s plan envisages ending the war at the current contact line, while European leaders see it as a starting point for negotiations.
Trump publicly spoke of the plan last week after speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone and meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
After his meeting with Zelensky, Trump said “it is time to stop the killing, and make a deal” in a post on his platform Truth Social.
“They should stop where they are. Let both claim victory,” he added.
“We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations,” ten top European leaders and Zelensky said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
“We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force,” they added.
The leaders accuse Russia of playing for time by refusing to accept the immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, a proposal that Trump himself wanted until he met with Putin in Alaska, when he changed his tone to call for a full-fledged peace deal.
“Russia’s stalling tactics have shown time and time again that Ukraine is the only party serious about peace. We can all see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction,” the European leaders said.
“Therefore, we are clear that Ukraine must be in the strongest possible position – before, during, and after any ceasefire. We must ramp up the pressure on Russia’s economy and its defense industry until Putin is ready to make peace.”
The Kremlin favors going straight to an agreement without a ceasefire first, as it allows Russia to continue bombing Ukraine and possibly grab more territory which would weaken Kiev’s negotiating position.
Last weekend, Trump appeared to revert to his original ceasefire proposal, saying the warring sides should “stop at the lines where they are, the battle lines”. “Go home, stop killing people and be done,” Trump said.
The US president has denied having asked Zelensky to give up the Donbas, the eastern region of Ukraine that Russia, partially occupies but wants to claim entirely. Zelensky has said Ukraine’s constitution does not allow it to cede territory.
The statement was signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and the Ukrainian president.
