{"id":139518,"date":"2025-08-12T11:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T11:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/139518\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T11:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T11:18:11","slug":"eu-leaders-urge-trump-to-defend-europes-security-interests-at-his-upcoming-summit-with-putin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/139518\/","title":{"rendered":"EU leaders urge Trump to defend Europe’s security interests at his upcoming summit with Putin"},"content":{"rendered":"

BRUSSELS (AP) \u2014 European Union leaders appealed on Tuesday to U.S. President Donald Trump to defend their security interests at a key summit<\/a> with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin later this week over the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Putin appeared to be on the verge of making a key territorial grab ahead of Friday\u2019s summit, potentially to use as leverage in any peace negotiations.<\/p>\n

Concerns over the summit <\/p>\n

The Europeans are desperate to exert some influence over the meeting from which they have been sidelined. It remains unclear whether even Ukraine will take part. Trump has said that he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war<\/a>, now in its fourth year.<\/p>\n

But Trump has disappointed U.S. allies in Europe by saying that Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory. He also said that Russia must accept land swaps<\/a>, although it remains unclear what Putin might be expected to surrender.<\/p>\n

The Europeans and Ukraine are wary that Putin, who has waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia\u2019s energy might<\/a> to try to cow the EU, might secure favorable concessions and set the outlines of a peace deal without them. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington, as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and Attorney General Pam Bondi look on. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington, as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and Attorney General Pam Bondi look on. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon, File)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The overarching fear for European countries is that Putin will set his sights on one of them next if he wins in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

In a statement early on Tuesday, the leaders said that they \u201cwelcome the efforts of President Trump towards ending Russia\u2019s war of aggression against Ukraine.\u201d But, they underlined, \u201cthe path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA just and lasting peace that brings stability and security must respect international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and that international borders must not be changed by force,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected the idea that Ukraine must commit to giving up land to secure a ceasefire. Russia holds shaky control over four of the country\u2019s regions, two in the country\u2019s east and two in the south.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy on Monday thanked European leaders for their support and urged for more diplomatic and economic pressure on Moscow as long as \u201cthey continue the war and occupation.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe see that the Russian army is not preparing to end the war,\u201d Zelenskyy posted on Telegram. \u201cOn the contrary, they are carrying out movements that indicate preparations for new offensive operations. Under such conditions, it is important that nothing threatens the unity of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the chief of Zelenskyy\u2019s office, said anything short of Russia\u2019s strategic defeat would mean that any ceasefire deal would be on Moscow\u2019s terms, erode international law and send a dangerous signal to the world. <\/p>\n

Putin\u2019s ultimate goal is to \u201celiminate Ukraine as a sovereign state by dismantling its military, foreign policy and right to self-determination,\u201d Podolyak said on Telegram.<\/p>\n

Russia closes in on a major city<\/p>\n

In Ukraine, a Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian military training facility left one soldier dead and 11 others wounded, the Ukrainian Ground Forces posted on Telegram. Soldiers rushing to shelters were hit with cluster munitions, according to the Ukrainian Ground Forces. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Russia appeared close to taking an important city in the Donetsk region, as its forces were reported to be rapidly infiltrating positions north of Pokrovsk.<\/p>\n

Military analysts using open source information to monitor the battles say the next 24-48 hours could be critical. Losing Pokrovsk would hand Russia an important battlefield victory ahead of the summit. It would also complicate Ukrainian supply lines to the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has focused the bulk of its military efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot will depend on availability, quantity and quality of Ukrainian reserves,\u201d Pasi Paroinen, an analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, wrote in a post on X late Monday.<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s military said its forces are fending off Russian infantry units trying to infiltrate their defensive positions in the Donetsk region. The region\u2019s Ukrainian military command posted on Facebook Monday that enemy soldiers penetrating Ukrainian lines to capture more territory \u201cface inevitable death\u201d but acknowledges that the situation remains \u201cdifficult, unpleasant and dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Putin\u2019s public rehabilitation<\/p>\n

On Monday, Trump repeated that \u201cthere\u2019ll be some land swapping going on.\u201d He said that this would involve \u201csome bad stuff for both\u201d Ukraine and Russia. His seemingly public rehabilitation of Putin \u2014 a pariah in most of Europe \u2014 has unnerved Ukraine\u2019s backers.<\/p>\n

Trump was also critical of Zelenskyy, noting that Ukraine\u2019s leader had been in power for the duration of the war and said \u201cnothing happened\u201d during that time. He contrasted that with Putin, who has wielded power unchallenged in Russia for decades.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear whether the Europeans were unsettled by Trump mistakenly saying twice he would be traveling to Russia on Friday to meet Putin. The summit is taking place in the U.S. state of Alaska, which was colonized by Russia in the 18th century until Czar Alexander II sold it to the U.S. in a land deal in 1867.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"German<\/p>\n

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, center, attends a cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ebrahim Noroozi)<\/p>\n

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, center, attends a cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ebrahim Noroozi)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The Europeans will make a fresh attempt to rally Trump to Ukraine\u2019s cause on Wednesday at virtual meetings convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump did not confirm whether he would take part, but he did say: \u201cI\u2019m going to get everybody\u2019s ideas\u201d before meeting with Putin.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s statement was also meant to be a demonstration of European unity. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, who is Putin\u2019s closest ally in Europe and has tried to block EU support<\/a> for Ukraine, did not endorse it. He was the only one of the bloc\u2019s 27 leaders who refused to do so.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Samya Kullab and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BRUSSELS (AP) \u2014 European Union leaders appealed on Tuesday to U.S. President Donald Trump to defend their security…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":139519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[69,440,8697,25821,57,3464,8132,83448,50,80,257,3657,273,3660,16815,274,3656,96,103,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-139518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-donald-trump","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-european-union","11":"tag-friedrich-merz","12":"tag-general-news","13":"tag-international-agreements","14":"tag-military-and-defense","15":"tag-mykhailo-podolyak","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-russia","19":"tag-russia-ukraine-war","20":"tag-ukraine","21":"tag-ukraine-government","22":"tag-viktor-orban","23":"tag-vladimir-putin","24":"tag-volodymyr-zelenskyy","25":"tag-war-and-unrest","26":"tag-world","27":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115015522989642474","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}